A Hollow Crown
by Swordsmen Anonymous
Summary: It was and always will be war of Kings who fight with the weight of a Hollow Crown upon their brow. (Discontinued, see latest chapter for debrief, Lt. Reader)
1. The Past

**A/N:** Fromerly known as King of Storms, this is my first fanfiction effort. Hope you enjoy, and, if you are so compelled, I'd love it if you'd review, to tell me, among other things, how I'm doing, what's working, how is my OC as a character, etc. Thats's it from me...merry reading!

Disclaimer; I do not own Bleach, or any other copyrighted material I may mention throughout the story.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

The Past

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><p>My soul screams violence,<p>

For my cries fall upon deaf ears

-Outline in Color

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><p>100 Years Before Bleach Storyline<p>

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><p><strong>XXX<strong>

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><p>Soul Society<p>

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><p>Seireitei was peaceful. All the medieval Japanese abodes were quiet, and even the people wandering its stone streets seemed afraid to break the peace. The clouds themselves crawled lazily across the sky, sluggishly dotting Seireitei's abundant skyline. They moved at a deliberately slow, easy pace, not in a hurry to go anywhere. The shinigami also were victims of the subtle lull of peace their surroundings wrought. They chatted idly, some about the weather, others (namely those of Squad 11) of how much they had improved their skills. Almost no one noticed the silver figure in the sky. Almost.<p>

A lone shinigami rushed through the streets, brushing aside looks of confusion and everything in his path, including a very disgruntled member of Squad 11. The barbarian quickly caught up with the shinigami and grabbed his shoulder. With a vicious shove he sent the smaller man to the ground, scattering the papers he'd been carrying.

"Yo! You wanna start something, punk?" the tall man leered down at the other shinigami. Scrambling to his feet, the latter straightened his lab coat, revealing he was from squad 12, the Research and Development Bureau, and continued running. Another man came up to his assailant scratching his head in confusion.

"What's eating Rin? Normally he wouldn't hesitate to fight you," the man said, his head tilted to the side in consideration.

"Yeah," the Squad 11 member responded. "and he forgot his papers."

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><p>Soul Society: Squad 1 Barracks<p>

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><p>"So why are we here again?" yawned a very annoyed Yoruichi Shihoin.<p>

The purple haired woman had been napping at her division barracks, a habit of hers. She was called out of her blissful state when an alarm began to blare in her room, and a very flustered Soi-Fon had shaken her awake saying 'T-there's a meeting Y-Yoruichi-sama' which lead to the current situation.

"Dunno," came the lazy response from Shunsui Kyoraku. His pink flowery kimono was a little off center, the only indication he had hurried to the meeting. Everyone else was noticeably distressed, and worried.

'So many years of peace has made us soft', Yoruichi thought bitterly. With another yawn the bronze goddess stretched, straining her toned arms to the ceiling. Still yawning she looked around. Although her glances had seemed very casual and nonchalant, Yoruichi had looked around thoroughly, her golden eyes slinking to each captain present. Currently only 11 of the captains were present; the Head Captain Genryiusai Yamamoto of the 1st, herself of the 2nd, Rojuro Otoribashi of the 3rd, Retsu Unohana of the 4th, Shinji Hirako of the 5th, Ginrei Kuchiki of the 6th, Love Aikawa of the 9th, Shunsui Kyoraku of the 8th, and Kenpachi Kiganjo of the 11th.

Jushiro Ukitake, Captain of the 13th division, was sick, that much they all knew. His sickness was in an active period, and he was confined to the 4th until Captain Unohana deemed him fit to go about his duties. That left Kisuke Urahara as the only captain not present.

Though all the captains were worried about the emergency meeting, they all had different ways of showing it. Unohana hummed softly. The Head Captain opened his eyes. Yoruichi rocked from her heels to her toes endlessly. Kinsei Muguruma didn't say anything but glared and snapped at anyone that got to close. Kenpachi Kiganjo put on a similar routine, with the addition of violent death threats. Love Aikawa nervously ran a hand through his afro. Rose drummed his fingers lightly against his thigh. Shinji Hirako loudly complained to anyone who would listen. Ginrei Kuchiki seemed even stiffer than usual.

The Captain of the 8th had his own way of dealing with anxiety as well.

"So, Yoruichi-san," Captain Shunsui Kyoraku said airily, striding over to the head of the execution squad, "Wanna go drinking after all the commotion dies down?" Yoruichi raised her head, her eyes widening in surprise, then in amusement.

"You really need to be taught some gravity, Shunsui," Yoruichi responded a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Aww, don't be such a meanie, Yoruichi-san," Shunsui shot back. Yoruichi opened her mouth to respond but the door of the meeting hall was nearly ripped off its hinges, a blonde figure standing in the doorway.

"Kisuke!" Yoruichi exclaimed, relived to see her friend. But something was amiss. Gone was his bubbly personality and carefree smile. Yoruichi's insides went cold when his gaze met hers. This was serious. The entire room now strained towards him, as if the pressure of their gaze would enlighten them as to his purpose.

"We have no time to waste," Kisuke said, striding into the room, commanding as much authority as the Captain Commander. "For the past few days there have been reports of a figure in the sky. Although they seemed trivial, we decided to take a look at it. We detected a faint hollow spiritual pressure."

The entire room, which had been quiet during his brief address, now burst into commotion. Cries of 'impossible' rang out; along with the occasional 'You're crazy Urahara'.

"Silence!" The Head Captain roared, slamming his cane clad zanpakuto onto the floor. "Continue, Captain Urahara." the blonde captain nodded before continuing.

"Normally this wouldn't be of any concern and we were prepared to send a squad to eliminate it. However early this morning its spiritual pressure began to rise," Kisuke said pausing and taking the time to stare down anyone who didn't believe him. "It was at a captain's level as of an hour ago."

"Preposterous." Ginrei Kuchki stated simply, coldly. "If what you say is true, why can't my senses," he paused to look around, "or those of any of my fellow Captains, detect it?"

"Because," Kisuke deadpanned, "not even someone of the Head Captain's level can extend their senses beyond the Seireitei barrier from the ground. But its spiritual pressure will be so massive, soon we'll all have a hard time not sensing it," here he turned his gaze to the Captain Commander. "I suggest we send three captains out to engage, and three more to prevent its escape."

"Surely you jest, Urahara," Ginrei interrupted yet again, "even if this hollow has as much spiritual pressure as you say, it is still merely a hollow."

"I wouldn't kid around in such a serious predicament," Kisuke said, "if you'll hear out the rest of my story then I believe it would answer your questions. Now, normally the barriers around the Soul Society as a dimension can't be breached by a hollow. However with enough raw spiritual pressure, there is one type of hollow that could potentially break it down."

His gaze went from Captain to Captain, daring one of them to say what they were all thinking. His eyes settled on Yoruichi.

Yoruichi's eyes widened and her hushed voice came out; "A Vasto Lorde."

"Yes," Kisuke regarded her for a second before continuing, "A Vasto Lorde, the most powerful hunters in existence. The hollow most likely spent most of its spiritual pressure breaking into Seireitei, and its beginning to recover its power. It'll be at full strength by nightfall."

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><p>Soul Society: Sokyoku Hill<p>

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><p>Seireitei was quiet. If one included the sunset the scene was almost beautiful. Its medieval Japanese abodes refused to move, each one caught up in the male-storm of anxiety that swept through the streets. Everyone had been confined to their homes, but no one would've dared to venture out anyway.<p>

All could feel the cataclysmic spiritual pressure beginning to descend upon the city.

This creature was truly fearsome. Its very reiatsu was causing structural collapses all over Seireitei and it had yet to even make contact.

Shunsui, Yoruichi, Ginrei, Kisuke and Unohana had all gathered on Sokyoku hill, all pushing the spiritual pressure out to dampen the effects of the Vasto Lorde's spiritual pressure. Of all them, Kisuke was the only one sitting, on a flat rock. Of them all, he was the most worried.

"My, my," Shunsui said, "what a monster." Although his tone was light and joking, all present couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. 'Monster indeed,' Yoruichi thought, 'it's reiatsu nearly crushing. Even at such distances, I feel smothered.'

"Urahara," Ginrei began, his voice impatient. "Did you not say it would be ready to attack upon night fall?"

"I did, but why it isn't happening is anyone's guess." Kisuke responded. The blonde man still lacked his discerning bubbly personality. His mouth was a grim line. Yoruichi noticed this change more so than the others, and reached out to comfort her friend. Just before her hand could clasp Kisuke's shoulder, he stiffened.

The air began to shift.

The captains' eyes were now trained on the silvery figure now floating over Seireitei. A corona of icy blue light blossomed from it, and from so far away it resembled a miniature sun.

Much to their surprise it began to change. Like any Vasto Lorde should, it resembled a human, but as they watched it two bone structures began to form that simply floated around each of its shoulder blades. They resembled the basic form of wings. A long tail began to grow out of its rear. Even from that far away they could see the axe like blade on its end. It looked over its form, flexing its claws, and swishing its tail. Once it seemed satisfied it spoke.

"Shinigami!" its voice was surprisingly clear, and spoke greatly of its vast intelligence. Despite the distance, the sound of its voice seemed to distort the gap in space and to the Captains; it felt as though the voice was right next to them.

"Return my comrade." the Vasto Lorde said simply. Its voice was imperial and commanding. The shinigami captains looked at each other in confusion. Unohana kept her eyes trained on the Vasto Lorde, as if assessing its strength. After a moment the other Captains' confused eyes fell to Kisuke. After a minute of contemplation Kisuke responded.

"I'm sure that since you're speaking with us now you aren't beyond diplomacy," Kisuke shouted, attempting to reach the Vasto Lorde, "And since you have decided to talk first, I know you aren't beyond reason. We don't have your-"

"Your eloquence is rather admirable, shinigami. But we are beyond the point of negotiations!" the Vasto Lorde boomed, the distorting quality of his voice making it sound as though it was shouting in each of their ears.

"You're only option is to relinquish the hollow you abducted from Hueco Mundo." the Vasto Lorde continued, still no anger discernible in its voice.

"We don-"

"I see." The Vasto Lorde interrupted Kisuke. For a second the captains believed they had averted a crisis.

"You will pay, not for defying me, but for attacking those who cannot fight back." with that the hollow began to dive towards the city.

The Captains began to draw their blades but Kisuke held out a hand.

"Don't worry; he won't be able to get past the wall. I reinforced it with a variety of spells," Kisuke assured his fellow captains while watching the hollow's descent.

Once it was within a couple hundred feet, the wall glowed crimson, and dark designs began to carve themselves into the wall of light. 'So this is what you've done' Yoruichi thought, thoroughly impressed. Her admiration of her friend didn't last very long.

As it began to near the barrier, the hollow began to spin. The corona of light surrounding the creature increased in intensity, changing from beams of light to dancing blue flames. Its spiritual pressure began to skyrocket. Its rotations increased in pace and with a final flourish the creature flapped its wings, sending a spray of small dart like blasts of energy at the crimson wall. They spread out like rain. Kisuke's eyes widened.

"Unohana-san!" he roared. She got the message.

"Bakudo #88, Splitting Void!" she exclaimed. Instantly a wall of transparent light appeared in front of Sokyoku Hill. It wasn't a moment too soon. As soon as the beads of light came in contact with the crimson hemisphere a myriad of blue explosions began to tear massive holes in the supposedly impenetrable wall. Wind and shards of energy slammed into Seireitei, rocking the entire foundation of the city. The explosions spawned many small tornadoes that tore through Seireitei. Once the smoke cleared, the hollow was once again preparing to dive.

"I will handle this," Ginrei stated, drawing his zanpakuto.

"BANKAI!" he roared, and with a dramatic upward swing, his sword became a storm of pink blades that resembled cherry blossoms. He and his personal tornado of blades jumped up, defying gravity's hold, and went to meet the hollow.

Taking no heed of the incoming danger the hollow plunged downwards. For three seconds they approached each other.

"Why isn't it veering off?" Yoruichi asked more to herself because her fellow captains were devoting their attention to the inevitable clash of the two beings, "doesn't it see him?"

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><p>Oh, the blood that would be spilled, the silver hollow thought to himself, relishing the wind blowing through his claws, and pseudo wings. Flight was perhaps the best things about his existence. Definitely not being a machine for war.<p>

Angling his body downwards he once again began to dive. A shot of pink caught his vision. A swirling cloud of pink with a tiny white and black dot in its center was flying towards him. His advanced eyes had no trouble picking out the individual blades. A smirk began to form behind his mask. Not at the thought of killing the shinigami. At the thought of the challenge of having to dodge those miniscule pink blades.

With a tiny push he flapped his wings and he accelerated to sonido speeds.

He was afraid this would turn into a massacre.

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><p>The Captains' eyes widened as the hollow disappeared. After a second it appeared less than a mile from then the ground. Their surprise increased when Ginrei's bankai was rent apart by a dozen icy blue explosions. The cloud of petals now looked as though someone had raked their hand through it, dispelling the illusion that they were a cohesive mass. Ginrei's smoking form soon fell from the debris generated by the explosion, a gentle rain of pink petals following shortly after. Seeing no more value in waiting the hollow once again disappeared.<p>

The Captains now once again scanned the sky, looking for any trace of the hollow. A loud buzz sounded a few feet behind them, making them spin around. There was the hollow. Yoruichi's eyes widened.

Up close, the Vasto Lorde was quite breathtaking. It took the form of a tall man, clad in intricate, high sheen, sliver colored armor. Its feet were strangely humanoid, and ended in five clawed toes. Upon closer inspection, its arms had small squared off uprisings that resembled blades. Its hands each had holes in the palms. Its hands ended in long claws that sliced back after they reached a point. Its torso was also covered in armor, but it seemed to be thicker, covered in intricate shapes and designs. Its chest featured a massive hole, dominating its appearance.

Its head was perhaps the most curious aspect of it. Its mask had three wickedly curved crests that faced backwards. The mask itself resembled a knights helmet, except its mouth was flat and featureless, its cheeks complimented by angular spines that also faced backwards. Its eyes, which were an electric blue that was pale and intense simultaneously, were shadowed by a forehead plate that featured the same angular designs inscribed on the rest of its body. Its tail was thick, but still proportionately so to its body, and ended in a curved blade like extension.

There was no question about it, this was a Vasto Lorde.

"I will maintain my previous offer," The Vasto Lorde said, his (for there was no doubt it was a male) tail flicking back and forth, seemingly eager for something to happen, "return my comrade to me, and I won't raze this place."

At this he flexed his spiritual pressure out, demonstrating his ability to do just that. Kisuke, more so then the other captains, was intrigued by its ability to speak without a mouth.

"Your comrade?" Yoruichi asked curiously, her hand going to the hilt of her zanpakuto all the same.

The other captains mirrored her actions. The Vasto Lorde turned his icy blue eyes to her. Yoruichi met his gaze, but soon regretted it; his gaze seemed to take in everything, pierce her thoughts and turn her inside out. It was a most uncomfortable experience. Everything she felt as though every secret she had was now out in the open. All of the sudden she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to Kisuke, the owner of the hand, and snapped out of her reverie.

"Careful," Kisuke muttered, still facing the hollow. Yoruichi nodded faintly.

"Yes, my comrade…of sorts. Though I doubt you thought hollows capable of comradeship of any sort," the hollow said, allowing a thick pause to enter his speech, "But I digress and, subsequently, I am behind schedule. I said I would have her back by First Wane (1)."

There was the briefest of pauses then when the Vasto Lorde desperately hoped that they'd surrender, and he could return to the endless sands of Hueco Mundo without any trouble.

They didn't surrender.

"Well, I'm afraid we can't let you any further," Shunsui said, drawing both of his blades.

"I see," The hollow said, his voice deathly calm. His tone of voice was disappointed, and the sheer humanity of it seemed strange coming from a hollow, "then I'm afraid I'll have to fight you."

He almost seemed sorry. But not sorry enough to cave in. No, the Vasto Lorde didn't like to fight, but after having to do so to survive for over two centuries, he wasn't about to abandon his duty because of a fight.

He was sorry, not weak.

The Vasto Lorde began to take a step forward, but right before his foot touched the ground his form disappeared, causing the ground to crinkle and crack where he just was. In that very instant Shunsui was flying backwards, both his katana crossed as defended from an onslaught of clawed slashes being delivered from the Vasto Lorde.

Everyone watched in awe as the fighters' forms faded in and out of existence. Every so often a crater would pop into existence, followed an instant later by Shunsui, holding off a particularly vicious blow from the Vasto Lorde.

The other Captains were tempted to interfere, but they feared that they would distract Shunsui, rather than aid him.

Kisuke and Yoruichi had been blown away by the raw speed the Vasto Lorde displayed. Unohana hadn't said a word, but her eyes twitched and rotated, taking in the fight that only she and the two combatants could see.

Her eyes widened. Kisuke and Yoruichi noticed her distress immediately, and looked at her expectantly.

"Get ready," she whispered, "as soon as Shunsui releases, we all attack."

"Awaken, Benihime," Kisuke said, his blade becoming shorter, its tip now resembling a scalpel.

"Slit their throats, Ketsueki Ojo (Blood Queen)," Yoruichi muttered, her sword changing briefly into a black liquid, then reforming into a short black knife with a serrated edge. It sealed itself around her hand with a guard that resembled brass knuckles. They both held their blades at the ready.

Shunsui's reiatsu spiked.

"Now!" Unohana yelled, "Hado No86 Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!"

The massive arcing blast of electrical spirit energy was aimed toward the very edge of Sokyoku Hill and, as logic would dictate, the Vasto Lorde and Shunsui appeared there, his twin blades in their shikai form. Following her lead, Kisuke and Yoruichi began charging up their own attacks.

"Sing, Benihime!" Kisuke roared, and as he slashed his blade downwards, a shot of crimson energy flowed from his blade, screeching as it neared its intended target.

Yoruichi punched her blade forward and a massive shockwave of purple reiatsu sped towards the two combatants.

Seeing the oncoming attacks, Shunsui delivered a final blow before using shunpo to escape. The hollow was about to give chase but in an instant the three massive attacks were upon him. Icy blue eyes widened in surprise.

For a second their energies mingled and bled together into a kaleidoscope of power, before they detonated. The pure heat and kinetic energy of the resulting explosion forced the shinigami to retreat into the air. It had turned the once magnificent hill into a ragged battlefield, its dominating feature now an enormous crater with a cloud of dust and smoke swirling around it.

The four shinigami stood on air a short ways away from the crater, breathing heavily from the exertion. All were covered in soot, but Shunsui had numerous wounds, the largest of which was a set of four parallel gashes in his abdomen. Kisuke and Yoruichi's eyes widened at the extent of his injuries, and Unohana offered a small gasp before going over to heal him. In a second, Shunsui was enveloped in a prism of green light.

"We should report back," Yoruichi said calmly and slightly relieved. Kisuke nodded, looking to Unohana and her progress on Shunsui.

"I'll go get Ginrei," Kisuke offered. However before he could go, the prism of light stirred and Shunsui emerged, the worst of his injuries gone, but he still appeared hurt. He looked distressed.

"It wouldn't have gone down that easy," Shunsui said his eyes scanning the dust. The three other captains looked at him expectantly, urging him to elaborate.

"The thing is a monster," he said grimly still scouring the cloud of dust, "Its power is nothing short of enormous. An attack like that would only slow it down."

Kisuke, Yoruichi and Unohana took in the information with the calm of those who knew they would soon have to fight for their lives. As if brought about by their newfound knowledge, the dust cloud began to stir. It fluctuated, then when it seemed it could swell no more, a massive blade of wind sliced through it scattering the dust, revealing the Vasto Lorde, his claws spread out.

The concentrated burst of air tore towards the shinigami. It slammed into them, knocking them aside like birds in a hurricane. With an earth shaking roar the hollow rose up from the crater, a single flap of his wings sending him hurtling towards the sky. As he got closer the Captains realized only his wings bore marks from the previous attack.

"I have wasted too much time here," the hollow boomed, and with another flap of his wings, shot down towards Seireitei. The Captains couldn't gain their bearings in time to threaten the Vasto Lorde as he streaked towards the 5th squad barracks.

"Yoruichi!" Kisuke started, "Give chase!" Yoruichi's golden eyes widened.

"Why me?"

"Isn't your shunpo the greatest in all of the Soul Society? Aren't you the Flash Goddess?" Yoruichi nodded reluctantly, and vanished with a whisper.

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><p>Soul Society: Squad 5 Barracks<p>

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><p>The Vasto Lorde touched down right outside the gates to the 5th Squad. He could clearly feel his target's reiatsu now, despite its vastly weakened state. He extended a single claw, and tapped the gate. A burst of wind crushed the gate and ripped it aside like paper. Striding into the courtyard, the Vasto Lorde further focused on his target. Three shinigami were positioned around it. Not in the mood for another fight, the Vasto Lorde unleashed a massive torrent of his reiatsu. Anyone watching would've seen space begin to distort around the Vasto Lorde, as if they were looking into a heat wave.<p>

Chunks of stone began to rip themselves out of the ground. The Vasto Lorde could still sense the Shinigami. He could sense their discomfort, but, with a morbid fascination he realized one of them wasn't afraid of him. The Vasto Lorde felt a strange smile begin to curl behind its mask. Raising an entire clawed hand, he began to amass its reiatsu. Wind began to swirl around his hand, until it was holding a miniature tornado. He swiped his hand forward and across his body, sending the vortex spinning at the building complex. As it got closer, it began to bleed light blue reiatsu and grew till it was a full-fledged natural disaster.

It slammed into the building with a righteous fury, ripping it off its foundation with ease and the Vasto Lorde used the reiatsu in the attack to spin it in reverse, neutralizing the attack.

He surveyed the wreckage, and as it expected the shinigami had fled. A part of him was disappointed. Even those captains on the hill had been afraid of him. Someone who wasn't would either be unnaturally stupid, or incredibly powerful. Either way, they'd be interesting to meet.

Coming towards him, at a reasonable speed was a shinigami, who the Vasto Lorde recognized as one of those who had opposed him on the hill. Why couldn't they just stay down?

"I can sense your fear," he said, his voice preceding the arrival of the purple haired captain. She started, pointing her shikai blade at the silver hollow, "Fear will only dull your blade, and make your reactions wild and unfocused. You cannot defeat me if you're afraid."

Assuming to have defeated her with his tongue, he began to stride toward the wreckage.

"Yes, I'm afraid," The Vasto Lorde paused mid-stride. Her voice was shaky, "But isn't true courage the ability to surpass one's fears?"

Although she couldn't see it, the hollow's electric eyes widened for an instant.

"You are most," the Vasto Lorde disappeared from view, and a buzz resounded behind Yoruichi.

"Interesting," the Vasto Lorde whispered in her ear.

Yoruichi's eyes widened for the fraction of a second it took her to whip her blade around to attempt slash the Vasto Lorde. Another buzz. The silvery hollow now stood in front of her. He extended a single clawed finger and tapped her forehead before she could mount any defense. The purple haired captain fell to the ground immediately.

"I'm getting soft," the Vasto Lorde said to himself as he gazed upon the sleeping goddess.

Turning away and shaking its armored head, the Vasto Lorde blew aside the wreckage with another blade of wind, revealing a hidden steel door fitted into what was the floor. With a buzz the Vasto Lorde appeared above the trap door, his right hand drawn back. He stabbed the clawed digit into the door, ripping of the right side, and kicking away the left. He stood in midair above the entrance for a second before falling into the opening. He hit the ground with a quiet clink of his armor. Straightening, the Vasto Lorde's bright blue eyes scanned the room.

The room he was in was dark, and covered from wall to wall with bookshelves. A sickly green light fixture on the ceiling bathed the room in an ominous light. Papers were spread out onto the floor in what was probably an organized fashion before the destruction overhead. He could see some of the books had been knocked off by its earlier attack. One particular book caught its attention.

"'An assembly of the Fusion Capabilities of Hollows, Shinigami and Humans'," The Vasto Lorde read, looking at the drawing on the cover.

It was of two men and a woman, unlike anything the Vasto Lorde had beheld before. One of the men had the uniform of a shinigami, but its face was covered by hollow's mask. The woman was stark naked, showing a hollow in her abdomen and a zanpakuto lay across her chest. Other than the hole she looked like any shinigami or human.

The other man was perhaps the most curious. His body seemed a combination of bestial and human. Spikes ran along his back, and a hollow hole was located in his chest. The Vasto Lorde was about to open the thick book, but his advanced hearing picked up a slight whimper. He took one last book, memorizing the author's name.

_Ningen Geretsuna_. The name was evil, and burnt into the Vasto Lorde's eyes from its innocent position on the black leather cover.

Setting the book down where he found it, Vasto Lorde looked over to the center of the room. Suspended in midair by blue circle of light on the floor and ceiling, which he presumed to be a shinigami spell, was a lion like hollow. Its body was brown, but its mane and head were a golden color. The silvery hollow reached out and as soon as his hand breached the cylinder, the spell dissipated, and the lion hollow fell to the ground.

It turned a pair of startlingly green eyes toward the Vasto Lorde. Fear was prominent in them. But not, the Vasto Lorde realized, of his presence. The sliver hollow felt disgust well up inside himself. What the hell did the shinigami do to her?

"Mila Rose, I presume," the Vasto Lorde said with a hint of pity in his voice. The lion hollow nodded, a short, pained movement of her head. "Your master sent me," he continued, "to retrieve you." the lion hollow's eyes widened in surprise, then closed in relief.

"You will heal better in Hueco Mundo." the Vasto Lorde said extending a hand, and with a gust of wind lifted the larger hollow onto his shoulder.

"Hold on," the silver hollow said.

He felt the lion hollow's body contract around his. His icy blue eyes met her green ones once more before the Vasto Lorde extended a finger to the ceiling. He gathered up and sharpened the air in the room, then shot it at the ceiling.

The blast forged a massive hole in the ceiling, and amidst the raining debris, the hollow pushed off from the ground, supporting the weight of the lion hollow with ease. With a generous flap of his wings he accelerated past the sound barrier

The resulting sonic boom further shook Seireitei. At their current speed the two reached the remains of the barrier within seconds. Pointing its unoccupied hand upwards, he began to marshal thick bands of icy blue reiatsu into a ball.

With a dull roar the cero detonated, painting night the sky with shades of eerie blue. However it didn't go very far. The sky seemed to absorb the attack and with a horrid tearing sound the cero's energy ripped the sky open, revealing a black void in the shape of a circle. The two hollows sped into it, and when they were gone from sight, the massive tear sewed itself shut. One could hardly tell if they were ever there.

Not including, of course, the fact that most Seireitei was in ruins.

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><p>Hueco Mundo: Desert Floor<p>

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><p>The crescent Moon of Hueco Mundo shone down on the sandy hills. Yet despite the vast expanses of sand Hueco Mundo wasn't a desert. In a desert the sun always takes it upon itself to make the lives of all who live there miserable by means of radiating heat. Here, the Moon doesn't radiate heat, but more importantly it doesn't seek to interfere with lives of those who live in its light. Its ever changing light shone with a cold indifference, not caring or even considering the ever present cycle of bloodshed that occurred under it. It simply shone, shifting phases without a care.<p>

It was to this Moon that the two hollows emerged. The forced garganta slammed closed as its occupants were dumped out of the sky. The silver hollow slowed to a hovering descent, and touched down without a sound. Setting Mila Rose down, he sat down opposite her. She too sat back on her haunches.

She watched in fascination as his form shifted his wings and tail shrinking down until they were unnoticeable. His crests shrunk till they were short and spiky. Long ragged black hair now grew from the back of his helmet. The transformed Vasto Lorde regarded her appraisingly. She shied away under his intense gaze, but he extended a hand that was now clawless. Light began to collect around his fingertips. After a few minutes Mila Rose's form was surrounded in beads of the same light. She started in alarm, but a meaningful look from the silver hollow across from her stopped her.

"You should stay still while I heal you," he said, his icy blue eyes and voice detached. She sat down heavily, the strain of what had happened to her in soul society catching up to her. Once she was still the beads of light began to sink into her skin. The process took a while, and while his reiatsu was healing her, he talked, simply to put something in the air between them.

"You know how this works? It stimulates your own healing capabilities and amps them up with my own power…"

"…the last time I was in Seireitei was actually only half a century ago, I needed to steal some books on spiritual medicine….

"…So never go to any areas in the Human World that have a large amount of spiritual pressure, chances are a shinigami is waiting to pounce on you."

He simply spoke, because he knew she needed nothing more than a distraction. He knew where her mind would go if he didn't. He knew a lot, that Vasto Lorde.

For the rest of the time, the Vasto Lorde would fill up the air with various tales of his life, until Mila Rose was able to speak. The beads of light were starting to fade now, their job close to being done. He looked at her, and said nothing, allowing the air to clear of his light-hearted tales for a moment. He needed to make room for something heavier.

"You want to tell me what happened?" The Vasto Lorde still didn't look at her.

But she could see the way his body tensed, and his hands clenched in his lap. He was angry on her behalf. For a minute they sat in silence. Light blue energy continued to surround Mila Rose, and slowly her wounds faded. The Vasto Lorde was about to recline, unsurprised at not receiving an answer to his question, but the lion hollow's head lowered.

"I went out on my own," she said, her voice low, "Mistress Halibel is always telling us not to but I was mad at Sun-Sun. All of the sudden I felt a shinigami's reiatsu, and I couldn't see anything. When I could see again, I was in a room with a bunch of bookshelves. These two shinigami...experimented on me," here she shuddered, and the ghost of past pain making itself known.

"Don't," the Vasto Lorde said blankly, "I will see for myself."

Mila Rose looked confused at his declaration. Slowly, the Vasto Lorde shut his eyes. When he reopened them, his icy blue orbs had glowing white runes, like those on his armor, crawling upwards on them, as if he was looking at computer feed. Mila Rose was startled by the small transformation, but was even further disturbed when she felt as though someone was intruding in her mind. Suddenly his blue eyes widened and he looked away from her again.

The Vasto Lorde's eyes were unreadable as he reached out and stroked her mane comfortingly. Mila Rose gave a very cat like purr at his ministrations.

"Let's get you back to your pride, Cub," She blinked at the nickname but stood all the same. She was surprised when she felt no resistance from her limbs. She turned in circles, trying to examine every inch of herself.

"Surprised you're healed?" the Vasto Lorde asked dryly, rolling its electric eyes.

"N-no," Mila Rose stuttered out, "I jus-"

"Let's go," The Vasto Lorde said, its usual uncaring voice back in place. He threw Mila Rose a glance, then jumped easily to his feet and began striding north. Mila Rose followed hesitantly.

"This is the way to my home?" she asked as she fell into step behind the Vasto Lorde.

"Indeed," the Vasto Lorde responded.

They walked for hours, but to they, who measured time by the phases of the Moon, no significant time had passed. Eventually they reached a stone uprising in the desert. It had a single entry point at the south side. Even though the tunnel stretched into darkness, the Vasto Lorde knew inside was a labyrinth not even he could find his way out of. Mila Rose too seemed to know he couldn't find the path to the center and looked at him inquiringly.

The Vasto Lorde raised a hand at her stare, "Wait and watch."

The Vasto Lorde raised its spiritual pressure once then flashed it in a higher but briefer fashion. He repeated this cycle four times. Minutes passed.

"What now?" Mila Rose asked a hint of her former pride returning. For an instant she'd thought she angered him.

He was only mildly annoyed.

The silver Vasto Lorde rolled a single icy blue eye to face her. When eye contact was made, Mila Rose's world turned dark, and the Moon was replaced with a massive image of the Vasto Lorde's eye. The air pressure increased dramatically around her in this new world and storm clouds whipped around her as far as she could see. It only lasted for an instant, but the illusion made Mila Rose shake with fear even after she was back in her own mind on the silky sand.

"Be patient," the Vasto Lorde said. It wasn't an apology, but Mila Rose detected something in his voice, something almost tender. It was most likely the closest to an apology that would ever come from him.

"Okay," she said, laying down in the sand to catch up on some much needed rest.

"Sleep well, Cub."

* * *

><p>When she awoke she was in a familiar cavern. Three raised platforms made of stone rose to the far right of the spacious cavern. She looked around and found that Sun-Sun, Apacci and Halibel were at the center of the cavern, all sitting in a circle discussing something. She could hear the violent protests from Apacci as Halibel attempted to explain something. Sun-Sun, she noticed, was quiet and was looking at her. Sun-Sun said something to Halibel and Apacci and the two female hollows whirled around. Halibel ran towards her and, despite the awkwardness of their sizes, embraced her. Seemingly regaining herself she let go of Mila Rose and stood back.<p>

"Don't ever get yourself into a situation like that again," Halibel said sternly. Mila Rose wondered if all Vasto Lorde were like this; keeping their true power and personalities contained behind a mask.

"Yes, Mistress Halibel," She responded. She took one more look around.

"Um, where is," she paused, realizing she hadn't even gotten a name from her savior, "the hollow that saved me?"

She thought she saw a smug glint in Apacci and Sun-Sun's eyes. Now, she wondered what they had been discussing before she had come to.

"Oh, Kodoku?" Halibel said in an offhand fashion, "he went back to his home."

"So that's his name," Mila Rose said, surprised, then as an afterthought, "He never said anything about himself."

Halibel snorted. "That's just like him."

"So you've known him for a long time?"

"'Known'? No being in existence can claim to know Kodoku, except one. We have met one a few occasions and I would consider us acquaintances. But if there's one thing I've learned about him, its that he doesn't let anyone get close to him. Not having a name, he thinks, makes him easy to forget, and therefore not apt to be anything more than a stranger."

Now Mila Rose looked confused.

"Didn't you just say there was someone who knows him? Didn't they get close to him?" she asked, confused at the seemingly conflicting statements. Halibel's green eyes danced with amusement.

"Yes she did," Halibel said, her mirth threatening to spill over into a laugh, "But he didn't let her."

* * *

><p>The silver Vasto Lorde gave the stone uprising one last look before turning and disappearing. A few miles away a buzz signaled his arrival. Now within walking distance, he began to stride towards his home, his body taking the path instinctually. As he was striding, a buzz sounded behind him. He looked up at the moon. A thin crescent had begun to show. Damn it. He sighed.<p>

"I said I'd be back by First Wane."

"But its First Wane now. Home is twenty miles south of here." the newcomer, another Vasto Lorde, had a voice that was high, but intelligent; both young and mature simultaneously. Had he been that far off? The temporal lag between dimensions must be catching up with him.

"Goddamn it."

He didn't need to turn around to know the newcomer's eyes would be twinkling with triumph. In fact he didn't need to turn around to know what the newcomer looked like; he knew her appearance by heart. An almost overly woman-esque figure covered in white medieval armor that hugged her features. Where there were gaps in the armor, an under skin of brown scales resided. A ram's skull formed the upper portion of her mask, and the teeth formed the lower portion, cut out to expose a pair of hazel eyes.

"Sorry," The silver hollow said, still not bothering to turn around, "I went a little overboard hunting."

The other Vasto Lorde laughed, a high, feminine sound.

"You can't lie to me, Kodoku," she said teasingly, "I could sense the moment you left Hueco Mundo."

The silver hollow snorted; unsurprised she'd caught onto his rouse.

"So what? I'm back now."

"So I know what you did," she said, her voice now becoming serious. "You actually reached out for someone else's sake. I think it's good for you."

At this electricity crackled around the silver hollow, and in an instant an arc of blue power shot out towards the other Vasto Lorde. The blast displaced a large column of sand and said substance began to rain down on him.

He heard a buzz, and the other Vasto Lorde was now at his left side, leaning onto his shoulder.

"Hm," she said, her arms resting on his shoulder, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were actually trying to hit me."

"Nel," The silver Vasto Lorde said, his voice weary, "Let's go home, it's been a hell of a First Moon."

For a second all was still, and the Vasto Lorde could envision a peaceful journey back to their home.

"Sure you know the way?"

"Shut up."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Basically the more advanced hollows in Hueco Mundo measure time by the moon, which in my story goes through a similar cycle to the human world. There are six phases to the moon and 12 moons in a year.

a) First Wane (first quarter)

b) Second Wane (second quarter)

c) First Wax (third quarter)

d) Last Moon (fourth quarter/full moon)

e) Black Moon (no moon)

[Edit 5/9/12]; Corrected spelling, corrected grammar. (Many) Added sentences. Change to portrayal of Kodoku's character. Redone spacing of paragraphs.]


	2. Eye of the Storm

**A/N:** Espada in this story will be OCs, save for Tia Halibel, Ulquiorra Schiffer and Grimmjow Jaggerjack. Merry reading, and did you see that awesome new review button [Commented upon on May 11th]? Hint, hint ;)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Eye of the Storm (The Past Pt. II)

* * *

><p>The road is long,<p>

Where's the light?

I'm tired of walking alone.

Alone.

Alone.

-Of Mice And Men

* * *

><p>Hueco Mundo: Menos Forest<p>

* * *

><p>Kodoku Takahashi woke with a familiar weight on his body. He rolled his electric blue eyes. Their home, a hollowed out tree deep in the Menos Forest, was a very intricate complex; three floors, all of which were at least 20 feet in diameter. The bottom two floors feature a few carved structures. One was of the basic form of a chair, the other was a sundial, or in this case a moon dial. Nel had insisted they decorate the place, beyond Kodoku carving out the tree with his wind manipulation. He had vehemently refused.<p>

Yet slithering tribal runes had still managed to make their way onto the walls and the floor.

The top floor was a garden made of stone, also at the green haired hollow's request. All these thoughts about his home led him to his current one; with all this space, this damned hollow couldn't find any place to sleep but curled up on top of him?

"Nel," he growled dangerously. The form on top of his stirred. Neliel Tu Oderschvank groggily placed her white armored palms on Kodoku's chest, her hazel eyes blinking heavily. Her sea foam green hair hung around them in a curtain.

"Wha~?" she asked, using Koduko as support as she sat up. He still glared daggers at her.

"Off." Nel sleepily complied and rolled off him, leaving Kodoku to flip easily to his feet. Kodoku rolled his neck, relishing the crack of his bones, the subtle grinding of his armored plates. He proceeded to stretch out the rest of his body, preparing for the coming events. Nel, on the other hand, was still sleepily standing up not showing any rush in waking up fully. He looked at her for a long moment. He remembered darkness. A slight smile began to for behind his mask.

In a sense she'd taught him how to see. She turned to him.

"What?" she asked, referencing his intense gaze. Though her voice was slow with the fatigue of her long sleep, her hazel eyes still held that sparkle of...knowing. For some reason, he thought she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Nothing, I'll get breakfast," Kodoku addressed the sleepy green haired hollow, "don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"Don't get lost." came the sleepy, yet joking reply.

Kodoku made an impatient noise. When was she going to come off that? Turning from her he took a few steps to the entrance, and then jumped out. They placed their home high off the ground, just so they wouldn't need to worry about lower hollows messing it up. Not seeing the need to use sonido, Kodoku let gravity pull him downwards, enjoying the brief feeling of weightlessness.

As he neared the ground he flipped over so that his feet met the ground with a muffled click. A small cloud of dust was kicked up when he landed, but as he pushed off again, it was quickly dispelled by the wind that his high speed form stirred up. Kodoku was a silver blur as he catapulted himself through the Menos Forest. A low roar caught his attention.

A group of Menos Grande, their abundance for which the forest was named, slowly walked through the forest, moaning as they trampled all in their path. If he had not been one himself, he'd think them stupid, pointless creatures. His eyes widened as one tripped over the hem of its cloak. Scratch that, they were stupid pointless creatures.

At least they would hold them over until the First Wane. He jumped up and decapitated one by slashing his hand through its neck. He waited patiently for its body to fade, leaving behind its essence, a black orb. Taking it in his palm he turned back towards their home. He hesitated. Would Nel be grumpy if he only got one? He shook his head. Since when did he think about anyone but himself?

Since about 200 years ago when a certain green haired hollow entered his afterlife, a very mocking part of his brain answered.

* * *

><p>"Oh!" Nel exclaimed upon his return, "You got three!"<p>

She had been sitting cross legged on the ground, drawing on a stone tablet, using some charcoal. Though there wasn't any wood, a cero could reduce any stone to said substance. The drawing was a remarkably detailed sketch of a man's face. He had remarkably handsome features, strong regal cheeks, a straight nose and thin lips.

His eyes were the most detailed aspect of his face, and they had a complex array of shades across them, giving the perception they were caverns, yet still discernible as eyes. There was no suggestion of hair. Kodoku strode up behind her and looked over her shoulder. He leaned down closer so that his head was next to hers.

"Is that me?" he asked incredulously. Nel looked over at him, her hazel eyes still holding that smile her mask couldn't produce.

"I know it doesn't have color," she said, "but it's just as well, I'm at a loss to what your skin tone would be, and although you may have black hair now, I'm quite dubious you had it in life. But other than that, I think this is how you looked in life."

Kodoku made an amused noise, not quite a full on laugh, but almost a chuckle. Nel's twinkling eyes lit up even more at this.

"Well, I'm no artist," Kodoku said pleasantly, "but maybe I'll try one of you sometime. But I have to know...How'd you know where to start?"

Here Nel's eyes looked thoughtful and she inclined her head in contemplation. She paused for a good few minutes before answering.

"First, you're pretty confident, bordering on arrogant," she said, ignoring his indignant look, "So I pegged you as good looking, possibly royalty. You tend to be a man of reasonable, but meaningful words, hence your strong jaw and thin lips. You seem to like finesse more than brute strength, so that's why you look overall more cultured and knowledgeable. Your eyebrows are rather thick and furrowed because I always get the sense you're frowning at me. I wanted to make your eyes the most expressive aspect since, after all, they're how I know exactly what you're thinking."

His eyes widened in realization.

"So that's how-"

"I know you're still hung up on what you did?" she completed. Kodoku didn't say anything but he straightened from his position over her and strode over to the wall. Nel got up and followed. Once she reached him she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You know it's okay if someone wants to get involved with you," she said soothingly.

"Look Nel, not everyone is as forgiving of a monster as you are," he whispered quietly, "I don't care for hurting anyone, but it happens. All the fucking time, I mess up, Nel. I can't keep my power in check, and Fear is beginning to break free. I can't risk hurting those I care for-"

"So you limit the ones you care for?" Nel once again completed.

"So you understand?"

"No, it's very childish of you," Nel observed, "I think you're just afraid of being attached to something that might not be eternal. You don't want to relinquish stability for happiness."

"It's a justifiable fear," he said in the same quiet voice. Suddenly he felt another armored form pressed against his, and thin powerful arms wrapping around his abdomen.

"You know you're never going to be able to get rid of me, right?" she said into his back.

"Yeah, Nel."

* * *

><p>Kodoku lashed out again. The subsequent blade of wind cut through an entire group of Menos Grande. Kodoku stood in midair calmly as the enormous hollows faded into their essences. Flexing his wings he sent a massive shockwave of reiatsu from his body, reducing surrounding trees to shards of crystal. The attack killed a number of lower hollows that had come for the massive amounts of spiritual pressure he was exerting. Though he wasn't at full strength, he always tried to get some training done in his transformed state.<p>

He caught sight of another group of Menos about two miles away, and with a simple flap of his wings, he propelled himself the distance. He spun and lashed out with his tail, sending a crescent like blade of wind spinning at the Menos. It easily decapitated two of them before fading and knocking two more to the ground with the aftershock.

The remaining five Menos Grande looked at their fallen comrades, and turned with all the grace and precision of an old drunk. Pointing a finger at them, a pulsating orb of icy blue light began to form. Once it was about the size of a baseball, thick streams of the same energy poured into it, making it far denser. Kodoku charged the cero to the upper limits of his power and fired, the resulting blast vaporizing the Menos, as well as a considerable amount of the surrounding forest. Surveying the destruction, Kodoku decided he was satisfied with himself.

"Now onto lightning," he said to himself, and flapping his wings causing him to shoot straight upwards.

He reached the roof of the forest in a matter of seconds, and by condensing his reiatsu around himself he was able to create a blue shield around himself. It protected him from whatever minuscule damage he would've received pushing through to the surface.

Once on the desert floor, he swept his hand in a broad arc, sending small darts of blue energy flying at the dunes. As soon as they came in contact with the sand, a curtain of icy blue explosions obscured his view. Spreading out his wings, electricity began to crackle around his body, and once his reiatsu reached a peak, he flapped his wings, sending a massive electrical shock wave hurtling from him. It carved out a massive crater, one that nearly reopened a pathway to the forest below.

Kodoku simply stood there, floating in the center of the destruction. Taking a heaving breath, he changed back into his energy saving form. His pseudo wings shrunk down, and his tail receded. His crest turned to spiky uprisings, and black hair fell down to his shoulders from the back of his mask.

After he transformed, he immediately extended his sense, searching for, preferably, a powerful Adjuchas class hollow. He could detect the reiatsu of a Vasto Lorde and three Adjuchas far to the north; Halibel and her crew. He sensed the massive signature of another Vasto Lorde, and a Much smaller, almost undetectable presence near the edge of his range; Starrk and his other half. Kodoku didn't know the details of Starrk's situation, just that he had undergone Soul Shearing.

He sensed a group of five relatively strong Adjuchas, in addition to a much stronger Adjuchas to the west of his location. A smirk grew underneath his mask. It faded as a memory from last Moon came back.

"Grimmjow," he said with and felt a twinge unease.

Or was it excitement? Foreboding, perhaps?

Kodoku couldn't tell as he buzzed off, his sonido shooting him westward.

* * *

><p>Hueco Mundo: Western Desert<p>

* * *

><p>When he appeared again he was watching said hollow tear into another Adjuchas, single handedly killing it, while his group sat back and watched, pouring in compliments about his performance, as well. He didn't know how Grimmjow put up with them.<p>

"You were magnificent, King!" Shawlong exclaimed when the hollow faded, and Grimmjow devoured its essence.

Then again, Grimmjow was always a sucker for flattery. Using sonido again, he appeared in front of Grimmjow.

"Yo," Kodoku called out nonchalantly. Grimmjow's head snapped up, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"The hell? Kodoku?"

"Of course, dumbass."

"So you want me to kill you?"

"Please," Kodoku said, almost laughing at how easy it was to get a rise out of the panther hollow, "I want some information."

"What makes you think I know anything?" Grimmjow asked tauntingly. Kodoku laughed menacingly. For one to come off on top of the other mentally, it wasn't a matter of power or strength, but a matter of swagger.

"To be perfectly honest I don't think you know shit," Kodoku said folding his arms in front of his chest, "but I do think you know what I want to know." Grimmjow scoffed.

"Dunno what you're talking about," the panther said, turning back to rejoin his awaiting followers.

"Don't bullshit me," Kodoku said in his normal uncaring tone, abandoning his pretense of malice, letting loose a torrent of his spiritual pressure. Strangely, this was more frightening then his original tone, "I know you were in a fight with another Vasto Lorde recently. I know I've never felt its reiatsu before. I know something happened, and it scared you shitless."

With that said he moved faster than Grimmjow could react, and grabbed the panther hollow by the neck. With disturbing ease he hoisted him up to eye level, still nonchalantly looking to the left of Grimmjow.

"Fuck you," Grimmjow whispered with what little breath he had left. Kodoku tightened his grip slightly, lazily turning his eyes to meet Grimmjow's.

"Last chance," Kodoku said as if what happened next mattered little to him, "tell me what you know about it."

"Fine," Grimmjow spat. Kodoku threw the Adjuchas down, and waited patiently as he regained his breath. Grimmjow snarled in annoyance as he turned back to the Vasto Lorde.

"I was deep in the Menos Forest," he said sitting down on his hind legs while Kodoku remained standing, "When I say deep I mean deep, deep. I got to an area where I couldn't see two damn inches in fronta me. Next thing I knew I was falling. Then I'm out, in this part of the desert I ain't seen before. Then there's this little rock, right? Well around it, this fucking huge sinkhole just opens up. Just when I thought I was gunna fall for the rest of my afterlife, I hit ground. Right in fronta me was a tunnel with a bright ass golden light."

Kodoku began to speak but Grimmjow interrupted him.

"No, I wasn't dying, Takahashi," he growled before continuing with his story, "When I walked through, there was another room. It was fucking huge! Tellin' you Kodoku, the whole thing was bat-shit crazy. And to make it even better, there's this golden Vasto Lorde strung up on the wall."

"So you found a Vasto Lorde underneath the Menos Forest, fucked with it, and it tore you apart." Kodoku said smugly, simply to annoy the Adjuchas before him. Grimmjow looked surprised for a second. Just a second.

"WILL YOU LET ME FINISH?" Grimmjow roared, angered more so by the suggestion of his defeat. After he calmed down, "It didn't look like a normal hollow, like your ugly ass. I"

Kodoku's eyes widened.

"What did it look like?" Kodoku asked, his facade slipping slightly as he let some urgency into his voice.

Grimmjow picked up on it immediately, and almost commented. He stopped when he remembered the last time Kodoku had been desperate for something and he'd refused to give it to him. It was the location of a garganta that led to the Soul Society. He'd said something about needing spiritual medicine for Nel. His side itched in memory of the vicious scar that, up until recently, had resided there.

"She had armor like yours, but gold. She was damn fine for hollow, too. So, anyway, this Vasto Lorde sees me, and the bitch says something like 'get away from here'. Of course, I don't have a fuckin' clue what's goin' on. Then out of the fuckin' blue, this crazy ass purple light comes from the walls. Next thing I know, I'm on the surface and boom, there's this in my side."

Grimmjow turned so that Kodoku could see his right flank. There was a deep 'X' carved into his flesh.

"It was on me when I came to."

Kodoku tilted his head in contemplation. A number of explanations popped into his head for what Grimmjow was telling him. He might be lying, but he's at least smart enough not to mess with a Vasto Lorde. That also ruled out the possibility he was lying about the trap to protect his pride; he wouldn't have engaged an opponent he knew he couldn't beat.

Actually scratch that this was Grimmjow.

But the X was to precise and clean to be a claw mark, and even if it was from a mysterious power of the Vasto Lorde, Grimmjow wouldn't be one to give up after his opponent drew blood once. In the end Kodoku was forced to accept it was true.

"Can you take me there?"

"Nah," Grimmjow said, and at Kodoku's dangerous glance gave an explanation, "Its nearly New Moon, you know what the feeding's gunna be like! Kodoku, can't miss it for shit."

"Next First Wax, I'll meet you outside my home. Or else." Came Kodoku's short response as he spun around and vanished.

"Son of a bitch," Grimmjow swore as soon as he knew Kodoku was out of earshot, and his followers gathered around him.

"Where to now, King?" Di Roy asked. The others looked to Grimmjow expectantly.

"Wherever."

Grimmjow snarled. If that guy wasn't the one of the only people he respected...

* * *

><p>Hueco Mundo: Menos Forest<p>

* * *

><p>A light of wind rushed through the room. Nel looked up curiously.<p>

"No Kodoku," she said disappointedly.

Shrugging she made her way to the wall, and traced the intricately designs Kodoku had carved so easily. Not an artist, he'd said. Nel scoffed. He was better than her. She walked around in a lazy circle, her hand trailing behind her slightly, and her fingers sliding in and out of the grooves of the swirling tribal patterns.

She never got tired of this. In fact it was her main occupation when Kodoku was out doing whatever it is he does. Suddenly she felt a slight weight press on her, so slight in fact she could've mistaken it for a gust for wind, had she not known its owner so well.

"Speak of the devil," she whispered to herself.

Taking a few graceful steps, Nel reached the stair case. The intricately carved stone steps led upwards for a ways, until they ended in a grand entryway. Nel passed through it, and was temporarily blinded by the light. The roof was completely transparent, allowing the pale moonlight to filter through. It was Last Moon. As her eyes adjusted, Nel took in the stone garden she herself had requested. Lilies, roses, morning glories, orchids and pansies, all made out of stone. The details were exquisite; bringing out the tiniest detail in the flowers. It was a very good job for someone who'd never seen a flower in his afterlife.

Kodoku was, as she thought, sitting cross legged in the center of the garden. He had his head tilted towards the sky, those curious blue eyes of his clouded.

"I think in when I was alive, I hated flowers," he said, the only sign he'd noticed her. She worked her way through the garden carefully, and sat down opposite him.

"Why is that?" she asked leaning backwards and using her hands to prop her up. She too turned her gaze to the moon.

"Real flowers wilt and die," he said, uncharacteristic melancholy in his voice, "how could i bring myself to enjoy something so fleeting as the life of a flower? As i continue to exist, they would slowly fade away, leaving me behind."

"Oh, really?" she asked a smile was beginning to rip her mouth in two behind her mask.

"Why so skeptic?" he asked. She really hated when he got this dejected.

"Because," Nel said, as though the answer was obvious, "That doesn't sound like you."

His icy blue eyes lost their clouded appearance as he turned his head to look at her.

"How so?"

"Well first, you can't bring yourself to hate easily. It's in your nature," she said with slight amusement, "and second although you might not enjoy them, you'd be jealous of them."

She looked pointedly at him to make sure he was still listening.

"You'd envy their ability to change, to evolve."

"To die?"

He let his final question hang in the air. Neither of them were paying attention to the other, both had their eyes trained to the sky, watching one of the most beautiful spectacles in Hueco Mundo. Last Moon turning over to Black Moon. The white disk in the sky that was their moon, began to change color it its pale depths becoming a hard crimson. It cast a disturbing light on the garden and created long ominous shadows in the shape of flowers.

This was only the beginning of the transformation. Slowly, the light began to fade, leaving the entirety of Hueco Mundo in darkness. They could both hear the chorus of screams and moans the lower hollows produced, all compelled to come to the surface and delight in the chaos of darkness. That base instinct to come out and feed during Black Moon was what allowed a lower class hollow to rise and become more than what it was. Black Moon represented a chance to enhance your existence for them.

Nel knew it represented something completely different for Kodoku.

She knew it was the only time he couldn't stand in the darkness on his own. The only time he succumbed to the siren calls of the dark power within himself.

Nel looked back across to her companion. His silver armor produced a faint luminescence and his eyes shone in the darkness. As she watched him he shrank into himself, holding his legs up to his body, and resting his chin on his knees. He tried in vain to hold in the dark spiritual pressure that began to explode from him. Nel, experienced with the transformation, steeled herself against the malicious power.

Wind began to howl outside their home.

"Do you remember when you met me?" he asked, sounding uncharacteristically unsure of himself. Unsure if he was hurting her. Unsure why she still wanted to be around him.

* * *

><p><em>Nel looked out at the desert. It was wholly consumed for miles and miles around by an incredible darkness. It completely consumed Nel's line of sight, and stretched miles into the sky. It churned and convulsed as if it was alive, spewing massive crackling streaks of blue lightning and shooting out near solid cannon blasts of wind. The sheer force of atmospheric disturbance was throwing sand around, and it sent Nel's long green hair flying.<em>

_It was a storm, the likes of which Nel had never seen._

_Coming from deep within, she could feel a spiritual pressure so gargantuan and unrestrained, even as a far away from it as she was, Nel could feel a primal fear grip her heart. Whatever hollow was inside this storm was causing it. Nel had trouble believing someone capable of controlling such an enormous storm, despite the fact that the immeasurable black mass was right in front of her. More cannon fire waves of wind slammed into the desert around her._

_This hollow was a monster. _

_She felt another pulse rip through her. It reminded her of why she was here._

_Whatever was inside the storm was calling for her help. Whatever was inside dwelt in the eye of the storm._

_So, stealing herself against the wind, she began to run. Thunder rocked the entire desert, and the size of the sound halted her approach. Still, she ran on. _

_Once she cleared the black clouds the process of reaching the eye of the storm was getting progressively harder. Every few seconds now she had to dodge massive arcs of lightning. She couldn't fight back against something so mind-bendingly huge. All she could do was run, dodge, and hope she reached the center soon._

_A blinding flash._

_On instinct, Nel crossed her arms, allowing a large shield of pink energy to form. The dense wall of reiatsu blocked the jagged arc of lightning that had been heading straight towards her. After a brief moment of thanking whatever god was out there for her defensive abilities, she continued her journey towards the center._

_She had to travel over a mile to reach the center. Her masterful sonido and comprehensive shields allowed her to reach there without any major injury. Her armor was singed here and there, and a few small cuts from wind propelled rocks had already begun to heal._

_She'd entered an area of complete calm. The sand was smooth and dead and the air had post mortem stillness to it. The storm raged on all sides, but the area, which only stretched for a hundred feet in each direction, was clear, and the black moon was visible. Once she was there, Nel could see why there wasn't any storm here; the spiritual pressure was so huge the air was being pressed still. It was hard to breathe, let alone move. The air was like concrete._

_Sitting in the dead center of the clearing was a hollow._

_His black armor shone, and his icy blue eyes glowed with white runes. He seemed to be unsure of what he was doing there, as if he hadn't really had a purpose in the beginning. There was despondency in those strange eyes. Nel simply observed him for a few minutes; he simply didn't move or acknowledge her. Well, if he wasn't going to make the first move, she would. She began to step forward, but a second before she did, his voice rang out._

"_Your hair is green."_

_A monster had chosen to comment on her hair, of all things._

* * *

><p>"Of course I do," Nel responded, "you tend to leave quite the impression."<p>

As usual though she was light and frivolous on the surface, one could tell she was saying something much more profound.

She glanced over to him, just to see the transformation he had undergone. His armor turned pitch black, a much deeper black than his surroundings, making him stand out as if he was glowing. His eyes shone with light blue power and were covered in runes that moved upwards on his irises. There seemed to be a never ending supply of them.

Though his appearance had changed, Nel knew the largest transformation had been his spiritual pressure; it was now almost unbearably dark, and terribly heavy, far outclassing its original cataclysmic feel. Also unlike its original feel, his spiritual pressure didn't have a direct effect on its surroundings, but instilled a cold fear in whoever felt it. The same fear that told an animal to run when they felt a storm on the horizon.

Already, they could hear the massive storm that had begun to form thanks to Kodoku's power. A great boom sounded throughout the Menos Forest, and dense reiatsu fell from the black clouds as the swirled in an endless circle around their tree.

"Nel," Kodoku said, as the moon began to peek from behind the sheet of darkness.

The shadows of the garden slowly began to shift back to their original position. His armor began to regain its silver hue, and his eyes returning to their normal untainted icy blue.

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Staying."

Nel was surprised to say the least. Kodoku was never one to express anything he felt. Now he had thanked her twice in the span of a Moon. She studied him again, trying to find a flaw, something to give away what had caused the change. He still looked the same but his eyes seemed to be shut off from his mind, as if he was simply running on auto pilot while his mind worked out some problem. She only observed it for a second, because after he finished speaking he returned to his normal self.

"I talked to Grimmjow." Kodoku said returning to his normal demeanor.

"About the weird reiatsu you felt a couple Moons ago?" Nel's interest was caught, and she leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands.

"Yeah," he said and it was obviously weighing in his mind.

"And?"

"Well, it was almost what i predicted. He did run into another Vasto Lorde, but..."

He relayed what Grimmjow had said to her. A frown graced her brow multiple times during the relaying, but she kept her peace until he had finished.

"Could it be a booby trap the Vasto Lorde set?" she asked musingly.

"That's what I thought at first to, but then why imprison herself?" Kodoku asked her. Nel once again frowned.

"So the question would be who would imprison her and why," Nel responded looking at Kodoku to confirm her theory.

"Yes and no," Kodoku said, sounding as though he too was puzzled, "It's also a question of who or what could imprison her. Remember there's a strong possibility she's as strong or stronger than me."

"You think it was a shinigami?"

"That seems to be the only logical explanation," Kodoku said, "but motive is still a question."

They sat there in silence for minutes on end, each sorting through their own thoughts for an answer. Kodoku's spiritual pressure fluctuated whenever he thought he had an answer and he would open his eyes and raise his hand only to return to his original position when he discredited the solution. Nel simply sat there; giving no indication she was succeeding or failing.

Kodoku ground his teeth in frustration. He was so close, so close to knowing what set him apart from other hollows. So close to knowing where this damned power came from. He knew that, somehow, if he could find this golden hollow he could discover what it was, and more importantly, how to control it. He chanced a glance a glance at Nel. She was still deep in thought, her brows furrowed in concentration. He smirked behind his mask. She had said he was a frowner? The smile slowly died down. He would never hurt her again.

"...we'll find," Nel said, oblivious to the fact Kodoku wasn't paying attention, "Kodoku?"

"Hm?" Kodoku asked, his darker thoughts taking a temporary backseat as he acknowledged his companion, "Sorry, drifted off there. What was that, Nel?"

"Nothing. I was just saying we'll find out when the time is right." she said, undisturbed and unsurprised he'd been caught up in his thoughts.

"Time?" Kodoku asked bitterly, "If anything, I've got that."

Nel looked up at this, eyeing her companion strangely. She reached over and punched him on the shoulder.

"Don't whine," she said teasingly, "It's not all bad."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," she said with a more playful edge, "after all, you've got me!"

With that said, she moved with a speed Kodoku wasn't expecting and pounced on him, sending them both falling backwards. After a brief struggle Nel pinned him, her eyes shining with a childish giddiness. The omnipotent Vasto Lorde was soon helpless, his arms pinned to the ground by her small yet powerful hands, and his lower body kept in place by her own. Kodoku resisted the urge to send her spinning into the ceiling with a blade of wind. Instead he felt himself drawn into the lure of forgetting all his troubles and simply playing.

"You're a child in there," he said, wrenching an arm free from her grasp to rap gently on the mask covering her forehead, "aren't you?"

Nel looked down at him incredulously.

"Oh yeah?" she said mockingly. She thought she saw Kodoku's eyes light up with amusement for a second, but she was soon upturned, and their positions were reversed. Kodoku leaned dangeroulsy close to Nel's mask.

"Yeah," he said, tauntingly knocking his forehead against hers, then continuing while mimicking her mocking tone, "Going to do something 'bout it?"

Nel felt satisfied with the results of the maneuver. A tightening of Kodoku's hands around her wrists brought her back to the situation at hand. Now she had to deal with the him. Kodoku, she knew, was like trying to find your way through a maze; it took time to find all his secrets. One of them was his playful side. It was hard to draw it out, but once one did, it was difficult to stop it. Sh also knew it helped him to forget whatever was troubling him. She smiled behind her mask.

Now to play.

They wrestled for hours, the tide of their battle not affected in the slightest by spiritual pressure. Arms were twisted, kicks were launched, and hair was pulled. Nel forced Kodoku into the ground. Kodku responded by putting her in a headlock. The fight continued in a similar fashion; a response to a reaction.

Their epic battle ended with the two hollows in a panting heap, Nel collapsed stomach down on top of Kodoku, both breathing heavily, their limbs a jumbled mess. Kodoku's arm was haphazardly draped over Nel's right leg. One of Nel's elbows propped her up by planting itself to the right of Kodoku's head. Her hair hung all to one side, letting moonlight wash over their masks from the other side.

"I'm tired," she said wearily, "Let's just sleep 'till First Wax."

"No objections here," Kodoku said, equally tired, "so should i get some more leaves and ground up stone to make a be-"

He ceased speaking when he her head fell to his shoulder, the tension in her body vanishing. He sighed when he heard her deep, even breathing.

"Night to you too, Nel."

Her body regularly expanded and contracted with her breathing, a feeling Kodoku knew all too well. He sighed. Suddenly he felt her form shift to a more comfortable position, dislodging his arm from her leg.

"Don't sigh, Kodo..." she mumbled snuggling closer to him. He involuntarily let a chuckle loose. He would normally regret releasing the sound, but since Nel was now asleep he felt he could let the inmate go free. He would have to admit, she knew how to lift his spirits. She had always done this for him, pulled him from the depths of despair. She was his tether in the storm of himself.

_She's quite precious, ain't she?_

Kodoku's peace of mind evaporated instantly. Again? He was back again?

_Don't mean to intrude, but I do think you forgot about me._

_How could I forget you? You're me._

_Hahahaha! I never get tired of your answers._

_Are you here for something?_

_Busy with her, huh? Then I'll make it quick. Just came to make my usual offer; Let me consume you, and I'll eliminate your fear, everything that pains you. You'll feel nothing anymore._

_And I'll give you my usual answer, Fear..._

_Well, don't forget me. I'll kill the source of all your fear. Her._

_Goodbye, Fear._

"Kodoku?"

Kodoku started, looking around wildly for the source of the voice. That's right, Nel. He looked down himself. Nel was sitting up on his lap, looking at him with concern.

"What? What's wrong," Kodoku asked, "I thought you were asleep."

"Well I was," Nel said looking at him for a sign he wasn't serious, "But you grabbed my hand, and nearly crushed it." she held up her hand for proof. It was still covered protectively by his own. He slowly let go, wincing at the sound of broken bones. His icy blue eyes widened. He looked to her with shame.

"Sorry," he whispered. She sighed, as if afraid he would say that. She reached up with the hand he crushed, the bones righting themselves, the cracked armor flexing and fixing itself, and clapsed his hand with it.

"It's alright," she said soothingly.

He'd let him slip out for a second. He looked down to their connected hands, then back up at Nel. She was still fixing him with her concerned gaze.

He wouldn't let him hurt her.

He would conquer Fear.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I apologize for any misspellings.

[Edit 5/11/12]: fixed spelling, completely changed Nel and Kodoku's meeting, changes in Grimmjow's character potrayal, shortened A/N.


	3. The Start of Things

**A/N:** Are there any talented artists out there? If so, PM me, I'd love for you to draw some of the Hollow Crown characters. Unfortunately, I can't pay you :(, but anything else, I'll do for you if you can do that for me.

Anyhow, Merry Reading!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

The Start of Things

* * *

><p>Brace yourself, the time is coming soon<p>

For the night to consume you

-Outline in Color

* * *

><p>1 Week After Ichigo Kurosaki Becomes the Substitute Soul Reaper<p>

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>Hueco Mundo: Desert Floor<p>

* * *

><p>"So you've heard of him too," Kodoku said, his suspicions confirmed.<p>

Sitting a few feet in front of him were two figures, each covered in a shawl, or cloak of sorts. One was considerably smaller than the other. They were near the outskirts of inhabitable Hueco Mundo, a lake of glass the only land mark for hundreds of miles. Beyond it were curtains of raging sandstorms that kept any sane hollow from venturing through them. Although most hollows believed once one reached them, one reached the edge of Hueco Mundo, some, Kodoku included, believed past them were worlds like Hueco Mundo with different terrain and different types of hollows. However Kodoku knew for a fact the Glass Lake's formation wasn't natural. Hell, he'd been there at its formation.

* * *

><p><em>"You sure?" Kodoku asked. <em>

_He was a relatively young being, and hadn't discovered his ability to shift between forms, so he was constantly in his winged form. He looked at the hollow before him. At a glance it was your typical Vasto Lorde. It took on a human form, with angular white scales covering its body. A coat of long grey fur clung to his back. His hands seemed to resemble wolf's paws with gun barrels for fingers. There was so much he thought was off about it. _

_It seemed to speak in two voices. He couldn't solidly place a gender on it. Perhaps the strangest of all, his eyes couldn't see into his past or see his future. Whenever he tried, he got two conflicting images that tried to blend together. The images began to hurt his eyes so he had stopped trying. He'd never even seen this odd hollow before, but it had sought him out._

_It asked him to help it with a Soul Shearing._

_"Yes," the strange hollow answered, looking up from its hunched position, "please."_

_Kodoku sighed, and cursed his vast knowledge. If he hadn't had a reputation as the most fearsome hollow in existence, he was sure this hollow wouldn't have sought him out. But he soon felt a pang in his gut as he thought of Nel. She'd pitied him, and she would most certainly want to help it._

_"Alright," Kodoku said, "but you will be in considerable pain."_

_To Kodoku's surprise the other hollow gave a bitter laugh._

_"I'll be fine, it is nothing compared to the pain of being alone," it said, staring defiantly at the taller Vast Lorde._

_Kodoku nodded faintly. He knew that fact too well._

_In all spiritual beings there were two elements; the Soul Body and the Soul Heart. A proper Soul Shearing was a defensive mechanism deep within every hollow. When termination of the Soul Heart is imminent or unavoidable, the Soul Heart splits itself into at least two parts, leaving one to be consumed by the danger while the other piece or pieces of the soul escaped. To perform an artificial Soul Shearing, one needed to stretch the Soul Heart to the breaking point, and another hollow to exert massive amounts of energy onto the weakest point of the soul, breaking it. The method was vastly unreliable because even if the subject survived the Shearing, it was impossible to predict how many pieces the soul will split into. The results depended greatly on the personality of the subject, his or her resolve and the competence of the second hollow. There were also many variables leading up to the initial Shearing; how fast to how much it will take to stretch the soul and how much energy is exerted. If the soul is stretched too much the subject will be terminated. If too much energy is exerted, the subject will simply have its soul crushed beyond repair._

_"Are you ready?" Kodoku asked. The other hollow nodded, "Alright then, sit down and we'll begin."_

_The other hollow sat down according to Kodoku's command. Kodoku sat opposite of him. Slowly they both closed their eyes. Kodoku concentrated, not on the hollow in front of him, but on its soul. As he felt he could feel it, an image began to form in front of him. It was of a massive grey orb, with a tiny hint of pink flowing through it. 'So this was its Soul Heart,' Kodoku thought, impressed. He began to assume the form of his own Soul Heart, a larger icy blue orb with black veins. After a minute of contemplation, he began to initiate the Shearing._

_"Now we'll begin," Kodoku whispered, knowing the other hollow couldn't see their Soul Hearts, "I need you to tell me...what makes you who you are?"_

_Kodoku's Soul Heart sprouted two arms. The two appendages made of icy blue energy began to reach for the grey orb of the mystery hollow's Soul Heart. As soon as they came within an inch grey electricity began to crackle around the sphere, preventing the hands from touching it._

_"I...I'm always alone, no hollow can be near me," the mysterious hollow said quietly, "I…I don't want to be alone anymore."_

_The hands of energy began to gain purchase on the grey orb. As the hollow continued to pour its heart out, Kodoku stretched the Soul Heart more and more. Though nothing was happening to the two hollows physically, save the odd one talking, the odd hollow was beginning to look fatigued and its breath began to shorten. Soon Kodoku had stretched the Soul Heart out completely. The odd hollow was heaving enormous breaths and seemed unable to move._

"_Now for the hard part," Kodoku said, checking to see if his patient hadn't expired._

_Kodoku's Soul Heart convulsed, retracting its arms and sprouting a blade like extension. His entire Soul Heart began to move, positioning itself over the mystery hollow's Soul Heart so that the blade was over the discus. Once it was directly over the center, seven tails of energy grew from the blade, swirling in intricate patterns around the tip. Kodoku took a deep breath. The orb lowered itself onto the disc at an easy pace, but right before it touched the grey Frisbee, the pink swirl collected right where the two were supposed to meet. Kodoku saw this, but it was too late to do anything because the blade had already sunk into the Soul Heart._

_The odd hollow suddenly threw its head back, and the two were covered in a massive flash of grey light, the heat of which crushed and melted the sand for a mile around into glass._

* * *

><p>"Yeah," the taller figure said, "Three shinigani, all pretty strong, recruiting hollows for some kind of army."<p>

The figure, obviously a man, didn't seem the least bit scared of the potential threats. If anything he seemed annoyed they were disturbing his peace. The smaller figure hadn't said anything.

Both had been born from that one odd hollow. Maybe it was Kodoku's fault, but some unusual things happened during the Soul Shearing. The first was that their power was unevenly split, giving the taller figure more power. They also were split into two genders, the taller one being the male and the smaller, the female. The last and most prominent and curious change was that they had both become Arrancar. As such their (mostly the man's) Spiritual Pressure was massive. Kodoku, reasonably confident in his abilities, believed they had been two creatures originally. How else had would a single soul produce two so dynamic creatures? The man was reasonably tall, with long shoulder length brown hair, while the girl was short, a child, had pink eyes, and chin length green hair.

"Well you're as lazy as ever, Starrk," Kodoku said, receiving a dry laugh from said Arrancar, "but Lilinette is less talkative than usual."

The little girl in question glared a pink eye at him and stuck her equally pink tongue out. Kodoku chuckled at her, before returning to his conversation with Starrk.

"I know you didn't come all this way just to confirm that with me," Stark said growing more serious by the word, "So what do you want to tell me?"

Kodoku sighed. He knew he would have to tell him the grim news eventually, but that didn't make the words come any easier.

"I saw your death," Kodoku said simply. Lilinette gasped and looked wildly to her other half, who seemed to take the news without emotion. Starrk's eyes grew hard, but other than that Kodoku may as well have told him the sky was black.

"With your eyes?" he asked. Kodoku nodded.

"Listen," Kodoku said urgency accenting his tone, "I know you don't fear death. Hell, neither do I. But if these shinigami find you, it's the end. You'll die alone."

Starrk seemed to slump over at that, and Kodoku almost regretted it. Lilinette reached over and patted Starrk's back.

"I'm here, Starrk," she said soothingly. Kodoku really disliked having to hurt Starrk, but be reminded himself it was for Starrk's own good.

"And where will they not find me?" Starrk asked sadly, "I might be able to evade them for a while, but with Lilinette? If they're willing to come to Hueco Mundo, where hollows are strongest, it could only be because they're stronger. There'll be nowhere for Lilinette and I to hide."

"Nowhere, you say?" Kodoku said, with the characteristic confidence he took on whenever he came up with a clever solution, "Nowhere in Hueco Mundo, yes."

Starrk's eyes widened in realization. His head swiveled to turn to the raging sandstorms beyond the Glass Lake. Lilinette followed his gaze, and she too realized Kodoku's implication.

"Out of…Hueco Mundo?" she said, her mouth hanging open as she turned back to Kodoku. Starrk too turned back to Kodoku, a slight grin on his face.

"That might be insane enough to work," he said getting to his feet, and offering a hand to his other half. Once the two stood, Kodoku turned to leave, his mission accomplished.

"Thanks," Starrk said sincerely walking over to Kodoku and extending a hand made of flesh. Kodoku inclined his head, studying the hand briefly before taking it in his own armored hand, "I'm sure we'll meet again some Moon, old friend."

After the brief exchange, Starrk walked back over to Lilinette, taking the smaller hollow's hand and leading her towards the sandstorms.

"Goodbye, Starrk," Kodoku said, vanishing with a buzz of sonido.

* * *

><p>Hueco Mundo: Menos Forest<p>

* * *

><p>Kodoku appeared in the entrance of his home, a loud buzz signaling his return. He took a sad look around. The past hundred years hadn't been too good to the old tree. The once magnificent carvings that stretched around the walls were cracked and decrepit, and multiple jagged holes and piles of rubble could be found. Massive winding cracks further disturbed its former grandeur. Aging stains made yellowing streaks on the walls. The crystalline tree that had served him and Nel so faithfully was slowly dying.<p>

He sensed Nel's spiritual pressure above him, and on instinct he moved to the stairs. He stopped a few feet short. The formerly grand staircase was now simply a rough cleft of stone that wound upwards, giving the vaguest suggestions of stairs. He looked up at the ceiling. It too had large holes in it, carved out by aging. Finding a sizable one, he began to float upwards, angling his body so that he passed cleanly through.

Once over solid ground again he let himself down. The garden too was in a state of disrepair. The flowers had crumbled, the stone bushes cracked. The circular skylight had an enormous crack in it, letting uninhibited moonlight flow through it. Sand piled up in the corners of the room, and dunes of sand began to cover the skylight.

Standing in that one sliver of moonlight was his companion. She looked over the time destroyed garden with a deep sadness. Kodoku walked over to her and simply stood there. Nel had yet to look at him. Her gaze was instead now upturned, looking past the crystalline roof to the moon. This was a strange occurrence. Nel was never sad. Kodoku sighed. Times like these reminded him that Nel was more like him than he knew. Hesitantly he reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. She twitched under his touch, reflexively turning to Kodoku. Her hazel eyes widened, looking down at his hand. Nel stepped closer to Kodoku, and embraced him, burying her mask into his chest. As hesitantly as before he returned her embrace. Times like these also reminded him that Nel also needed someone to help her.

"I know you don't want to part with this place," he whispered in what he hoped was a comforting tone, "but this place is gone, and if there really are shinigami out there, it's for the best we move on."

"I know," she mumbled, slowly letting go of Kodoku, "but there's so much we're leaving here."

"How so?" Kodoku asked, his arms dropping to his sides, "If you mean memories, we take them with us."

Nel rolled her eyes and laughed, shaking her head, a habit she involuntarily picked up from Kodoku. The two looked at each other and Nel nodded. Taking the signal as her permision, Kodoku crouched down and placed his right palm on the floor. Blue reiatsu began to gather underneath it, casting blue light everywhere. With a dull rushing sound the cero fired.

The enormous river of icy blue light completely consumed the tree below the two hollows. The wind produced by the attack sent the two hollows' hair flapping wildly. All that remained of the proud tree was its tip, the transparent skylight.

Kodoku stood up in midair and turned to Nel expectantly. She nodded faintly and raised her hand. Straight beams of pink light formed a small pulsating ball above her outstretched fingers. Once the ball reached the size of a grapefruit, Nel unleashed a wide dark pink cero did away with the rest of their home. The burst of pink light punched through to the surface. For once in a millennium, the Moon reached the floor of the Menos Forest.

A few Menos Grande looked up blankly at the light, acknowledging it with their generic brainless roar. Thick streams of sand began to pour over the lip of the circle Nel's cero carved out. There was a grim finality about the situation, and the two Vasto Lorde knew that somehow, they had left a stage of their afterlife behind.

"_Mademoiselle_," Kodoku said extending a hand. Nel giggled and gently placed her hand in his.

"Oh, thank you, _Monsieur_," she said in a falsely sincere tone.

Cocking his head sideways he began to make them rise. The two hollows slowly floated upwards, moonlight bouncing off their armor. The only sounds that accompanied them were the rush of sand, and the dull moans of the Lower and Menos class hollows. After a minute of weightlessness, the Nel and Kodoku touched down on the desert floor. Kodoku let go of her hand and turned north.

"To Tia's place?" he asked, absentmindedly cracking his neck.

"For now." Nel responded, "Race you!"

As soon as the words left her mouth she leapt forward and disappeared with the signature buzz of sonido. Kodoku sighed. After a few seconds, he followed her with sonido.

He'd given her enough of a head start.

* * *

><p>Hueco Mundo: Northern Desert<p>

* * *

><p>Nel slowed down into visibility right in front an enormous stone uprising. It had taken her just under ten minutes to reach Tia's residence at sonido speeds. She allowed herself a self-satisfied smile. She'd beaten Kod-<p>

"There you are." an smirking voice rang out from in front of her. She looked up in surprise. There was Kodoku, leaning nonchalantly against the stone structure, his hands behind his head.

"I was about to come looking for you," he continued, slinking forward from his previous position.

"Shut up."

Kodoku chuckled at her, and then looked to the uprising. The massive rock had a single entrance on its south face. The two hollows looked at the unsuspecting entrance, then back at each other.

"Didn't Tia make an entire labyrinth in there?" Nel asked.

"Yeah," Kodoku answered.

"And we're going to try and find our way through it?"

"Yeah," Kodoku responded in a flat tone.

"Great," Nel said, taking on the same monotone.

"I know," he said, his tone and eyes boring into her own.

"Are you sure there isn't an easier way in?"

"100%" he responded. Nel didn't look too convinced.

"Have I ever been wrong?"

Nel laughed loudly at him, and brushed past him and into the stone entrance. Kodoku followed her without a word.

After they were farther than fifteen feet in, all light from the outside was cut off. The only light came from Kodoku's luminous eyes. They walked in silence for hours, listening to the slowly growing sound of rushing water. The two hollows were simply following the sound of the water, making it relatively easy to navigate their way through the maze.

Kodoku, because of his powerful eyes, had no trouble seeing in the darkness. The walls were dark green and had a faint film of water on them. Kodoku reached out and felt them. They were wet and worn smooth, presumably by the ever present water. Kodoku felt a firm touch on his arm, making him whirl around to Nel who was looking excitedly at the end of the tunnel.

"Look!" she exclaimed, pointing towards a faint blue light at the far end of the tunnel, "There's the end, Kodoku!"

Jumping up and down excitedly, Nel began to run towards the light. Kodoku sighed and followed the energetic hollow in his normal relaxed pace. The light grew as they neared and almost blinded Kodoku as they reached the end of the tunnel. Kodoku's eyes widened.

Before them was a sea of glowing blue water. The cavern they had come to was large, and most likely accounted for most of the stone uprising's space. Kodoku whistled, the sound reverberating back to him and Nel many times over.

"Whoa," Nel said quietly, her soft tone echoing across the cavern, "What now?"

"Now," Kodoku answered, taking a moment to think, "I think we have to dive. There's no exit on the other side."

Nel nodded, looking dubiously at the water. She gestured for Kodoku to go first.

"Scared?" Kodoku asked slyly, smirking behind his mask. Nel's eyes widened for a second, quickly followed by her pushing Kodoku into the water.

"No," she said in a matter of fact tone turning up her head.

After a few seconds the top of Kodoku's sopping wet head and eyes began to peek from under the water. Nel didn't like the look in his eyes. In a flurry of movement, Kodoku grabbed her ankle and pulled her into the water. Nel vowed to repay Kodoku for that sometime soon.

Under the placid water, everything seemed to get distorted. Bubbles began to float up wildly from Nel's mask, signaling her distress. Kodoku was 100% calm, and quickly surveyed his surroundings. He could see that on the bottom of the lake was another cavern. He looked to Nel, and gripping her by the shoulders, looked down. Nel followed his gaze, and then looked back up at him, nodding her agreement. Kodoku let go of her, then with a powerful sweep of his arms, propelled himself towards the bottom. To keep up the momentum he rhythmically kicked his legs. Nel mimicked his movements, and the two reached the lake floor quickly. Once there, they had another exchange in a sign language of sorts.

Nel pointed to the cavern entrance. _Let's go through here._

Kodoku frowned and pointed around the cave._ No, there's something there._

Nel pointed to the surface, then back at the cave. _It's the only way. Unless you want to go back?_

He once again made a circle around the cave with his finger then held up his arms crossed in an X. _It's a booby trap._

Nel shrugged. She brought her fist back and punched forward, sending a small shot of pink reiatsu towards cave entrance. The attack caused a slight shockwave to pass through the water. As soon as the bala passed through the lip of the cave, eight bars of yellow reiatsu slammed into it, neutralizing the attack.

Kodoku cocked an eyebrow at her and gestured toward the cave entrance. _What did I tell you?_

Nel scowled back at him. _Shut up._

Kodoku swam towards the lip of the cave, sticking carefully to the edge. Once he reached the point he was looking for he slapped his palm to the ground. A circle of icy blue light immediately began to glow around the lip of the cave, causing the ground to crackle and collapse in on itself. After he was done the cave was now in the center of a small crater.

Kodoku swam back up to Nel and extended a hand towards the entrance. _After you._

Nel shook her head swam down. _Whatever._

Past the cave entrance was a long tunnel that bent down before gently sloping up. The two Vasto Lorde were making good time through the water. After a couple hundred feet, the tunnel began to angle straight upwards. At the top of the vertical shaft was a light. The two pushed off the base, taking the final stretch of the tunnel in one go.

They breached the surface with a loud splash, alerting the four hollows in the room above to their presence. The room they came to was different than the other areas they'd seen inside the stone uprising. It was a massive circular room, with three cylindrical structures of varying heights to the far north. It was lit by strange floating orbs of yellow reiatsu; Tia's doing, no doubt. They had emerged from a circular pool, in the dead center of the room. Strangely, this room seemed to be dry besides the pool. Crowded around the pool were four hollows. The three, a snake, lion and deer like hollows looked at the pair with an insane curiosity.

Kodoku rose easily from the pool, then extended a hand to Nel. She eyed his hand craftily. Kodoku knew what was about to happen a second before it did, and tried to withdraw his hand, but it was too late; Nel gripped his hand and wrenched him into the water, while using the momentum to propell herself out. Nel let out a laugh as Kodoku once again climbed out of the pool.

"That's for pulling me into the water!" She said happily. Kodoku reached over and flicked her.

"We'll say we're even now."

Sun-Sun, Apacci and Mila Rose watched the exchange with bewilderment, while Tia looked deeply amused. Nel and Kodoku soon realized they had attracted the attention of the four hollows.

"Tia," Kodoku said seriously, as if the events a few seconds prior hadn't happened, "we need to stay here for a while."

"Assuming you're asking," Tia responded, placing her un-weaponized hand on her hip, "Yes. But if you want to go out, you can just use the back shortcut."

If Kodoku's jaw was capable of dropping, it might've. He growled in annoyance. A sharp pain to the side of his head startled him, and he turned slowly to the source, Nel's index finger.

"100% my ass," she said.

* * *

><p>3 Weeks Later (Capture of Rukia Kuchiki)<p>

* * *

><p>The moon looked so different here than it did from his home, Kodoku thought. He was laying flat on his back on the plateau top of the stone uprising that was Tia's home. He was absentmindedly controlling a tornado of sand around him, allowing it to spin in lazy rotations. Once in a while the sand seemed to be stil, and one could see though the curtain to Kodoku, but as soon as the moment came, it would pass, and the tornado would pick up speed.<p>

"Kodoku?"

Kodoku shot straight up at the voice and sent the tornado around him slicing towards the voice with a flick of his right wrist. The rotating pillar of sand, he realized was slightly to the right of his target, the owner of the voice; Tia.

"Well, so much for gratitude," she said, walking over and sitting next to Kodoku.

"Sorry," Kodoku said simply, not sounding all to sincere, "What?"

"What do you mean 'What'?"

"What do you want? I'm sure you didn't come up here just to be nearly blown back off," he said, without a hint of emotion. Tia looked at him, and hesitated for just a second.

"I heard you and Grimmjow had quite the adventure," she said turning so she could see Kodoku's reaction. To Kodoku's credit, he hardly blinked at her, but the wild fluctuation in his spiritual pressure gave him away.

"He told you about that, huh?"

* * *

><p><em>Kodoku took a quick look at his guide. He seemed to know where he was going, but all the same he couldn't help but think something was wrong. Or maybe that something was going to go wrong. Kodoku didn't know which. Nel, too, had been anxious about his going with Grimmjow. The moon itself seemed to be in a state of anxiety; it was 34 full, and seemed to dread filling itself the rest of the way. The two hollows were on their way to find the home or prison, of another Vasto Lorde, one that resembles Kodoku._

_The panther hollow didn't seem the least bit worried on the surface, but after nearly 112 years of dealing with him, Kodoku could tell all too well Grimmjow was worried. There was a slight hesitation in his right paw, and his tail swung to the right on three beats, while he walked at two. They were extremely far west in Hueco Mundo, farther than Kodoku had ever explored. One of Kodoku's many projects across the years was to build a mental, then physical, map of Hueco Mundo. He'd reached the sandstorms to the north, the Black Lands to the far east. He hadn't been too far south or west so this journey was enlightening to him._

_Kodoku also found that they could no longer hear the cries pf the lower hollows, a fact he found unnerving. The desert was deathly quiet. Though the two hollows moved at a relaxed pace there was an underlying tension that made the both of them want to either arrive at their destination, or turn back. The further they walked, the less dunes they saw until everything was flat and barren._

_"We're here," Grimmjow said, a sliver of apprehension present in his voice._

_They were at the only marker for what seemed like an infinite distance; a single stone spire. It was only about five feet tall, and seemed to have something inscribed vertically on its eastern face, the one facing Kodoku and Grimmjow. Kodoku stepped forward and leaned in close enough to read the faded letters. Grimmjow's eyes widened._

_"No, idio-"_

_"Los Muertes son Silencio," Kodoku read, then translated, "The dead are silent."_

_As soon as Kodoku finished reading the saying the pillar glowed purple, and the sand around it began to fall in, as if it was an enormous sinkhole. The sinking sand revealed spire was the tip to an impossibly tall structure. As the sand fell from below his feet, Kodoku attempted to stay aloft, but he couldn't as if gravity had tripled. He and Grimmjow tumbled down, the moonlight soon being replaced by blackness._

_Kodoku didn't know how long they fell. The darkness seemed to mess with all his senses, making them unreliable. His equilibrium must've been off, as he was turning at much to slow a rate. He couldn't tell up from down, just that he was going somewhere at an incredible speed. He had long since lost track of Grimmjow. All Kodoku knew was that he had hit the ground with massive crunch, and that an identical crunch signified Grimmjow's fall._

_Kodoku got wearily to his feet, his reiatsu healing him further by the second. Grimmjow got up as well, also noticably weakened. Kodoku's eyes widened in shock at the place they'd arrived at. They were in a room made of black obsidian stone and lit by slithering silver runes. The runes depicted a vast moving history of what Kodoku assumed was Hueco Mundo. In the center of the room was the base of the spire, which was inly slightly wider than the tip was. There were ten doorways, each with a phrase made out of runes above it. Grimmjow looked to Kodoku, and nodded towards the door right in front of them. Kodoku nodded back._

_The two walked cautiously forward, one trying to ingrain the scene into his memory, the other trying to forget it. The tunnel they went through was about a mile long, but at the end, was a impossibly bright golden light. Once it was in sight, the two hollows slowed._

_"You still sure you want to do this?" Grimmjow asked, keeping his gaze trained on the light._

_"What do you take me for?" Kodoku responded, not looking at his guide._

_They continued the final stretch of their journey in silence. The two stepped over the threshold of the room confidently. The room was exactly how Grimmjow had described it; cylindrical, with golden light coming from the walls. The dominating feature however was the figure chained to the far side of the room. Also as Grimmjow said, was a hollow, clearly of Vasto Lorde level. She had a a slender figure, easily distinguishable as a female. Like Kodoku she had segmented armor, but hers was smoother, and more rounded off than Kodoku's which was angular and sharp. Her hair was long and an bright, almost luminescent yellow color. Her image of beauty was marred by thick black chains that bound her to the wall. Sensing their presence, she slowly raised her head to look at them. Her eyes were a strange orange color._

_"Kodoku?" she breathed out, her voice dry and cracked from a lack of use, "Is tha-"_

_She was cut off by a massive whooshing sound. A bright purple light began to flow from the walls, until Kodoku and Grimmjow's vision was consumed by it. Kodoku felt the vaguest sensation of flying upwards, and when he could see again, they were back in the flat desert. Grimmjow was roaring in pain, a glowing purple X carved into his opposite flank. Kodoku looked over himself. There wasn't a scratch on him. Suddenly he felt a searing pain and a streak of light began to pour from his the left side of chest plate. He dropped to a knee as the pain intensified. After a minute or so, the light died down, and Kodoku was able to look at his chest. Carved in rigid, stylistic writing was the Roman Numeral II._

* * *

><p>"I'll never understand why you care for him," Kodoku said, trying and failing to divert her attention. The question succeeded in phasing Tia, but only for a second.<p>

"He told me everything. Including your theory."

Tia was still studying him curiously, noting with interest as he gazed down at his chest. They sat there in silence for minutes on end, both willing the other to cave in and speak. After a couple more minutes, Kodoku broke the silence.

"Don't tell Nel," he said, not exactly ordering her to, but not asking either.

"Why not?"

"Because," Kodoku said, a hint of pleading slipping into his speech, "I don't want her to worry, not about something that may be just a wild speculation."

Tia looked at him incredulously, then shook her head and stood up. She began to walk towards the hole that led to the chamber below, but stopped just short of it.

"You're most likely the luckiest hollow in existence," she said over her shoulder, then jumped down and into the main chamber.

Kodoku groaned loudly, before lying back down and regenerating his personal tornado.

_She has no idea how right she is, huh, Kodoku?_

* * *

><p><strong>AN_:_ **I'll admit, I was a bit lazy on this chapter. But I'm sure the next one will make up for it.


	4. The First Soldiers

**A/N:** Well, here goes with my first actual fight scene; feedback would be appreciated greatly.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

The First Soldiers (The Start of Things Pt. II)

* * *

><p>I would like to inform you that I<p>

have lost to my worst enemies.

Try to live frozen in time!

...

Pictures bring clarity,

to what is meant to be

...

It isn't over 'till I get what I deserve.

It's what I deserve

-A Skylit Drive

* * *

><p>Hueco Mundo: Northern Desert<p>

* * *

><p>Kodoku groggily opened his eyes. He glanced around the chamber he was in. Nothing was amiss. Tia and her subordinates were sleeping on the stone platforms. Nel was curled up at his side, her head resting his chest. Both of his hands were behind his head, his favorite position to sleep in. The slight lapping of water alerted him to the never ending movement in Hueco Mundo. If he listened closely, the water seemed to be beating out a rythmic pattern, as if in warning. He could hear the subtle whisper of Hueco Mundo's ever present wind. It too seemed agitated and bore the none to subtle scent of blood. Although this was normal in Hueco Mundo, it seemed particularly strong to Kodoku, who'd existed for some 234 years, and hadn't ever smelled it in such high amounts. Though Hueco Mundo was always dark, Kodoku somehow felt like the darkness was thicker outside the confines of the stone cavern.<p>

He was slightly confused now. What could've caused him to wake up so randomly? Nel hadn't changed positions since they'd lain down on the floor of the cavern and all else was still and calm. Those few abnormalities he noticed didn't seem obvious enough to cause his waking up. Sharpening his eyesight, he swiveled his gaze around. Mila Rose was curled into a ball on the lowest of the stone pedestals, Tia was sleeping sitting up against the base of the tallest pillar, Sun-sun had her body coiled up on top of the tallest pedestal, and Apacci was sleeping on her side on the middle sized stone pedestal. Kodoku was about to shrug it off and go back to sleep, when, on a whim, he reached out with his senses. Kodoku's whole body tensed.

He felt why he'd awoken.

Three powerful beings were closing in on their location. As Kodoku further extended his senses, he cold tell they were shinigami. From their trajectory, they would reach here in a few minutes. Starrks words came back to him and he felt a sliver of forboding. So these were the three that were looking to build an army of hollows. They'd finally found them, and now came the moment Kodoku was reluctant about; confrontation. He looked once again to Nel. He wouldn't let her get caught up in this, nor would he let Tia and her subordinates be hurt for giving them a place to stay. Carefully, as to not wake his green haired companion, he detangled himself from her and got up. He flexed his arms tenderly and quitely began to loose the fatigue from his body. Once ready he began to walk out, but was stopped by a powerful grip around his wrist. He turned slowly, to meet a pair of bright hazel eyes. Nel stared at him intently, her lower body still curled up in her sleeping position.

"You're not going to go without me," she said simply, giving no hint she'd been asleep a minute prior. Kodoku chuckled quietly, shaking his head.

"I didn't think you'd let me get away so easily," Kodoku said, carefully removing Nel's hand, "but I've got to fight them on my terms. That means you're nowhere near it."

He took a final look at Nel, and truned away from her to leave. As he neared the back shortcut entrance he heard a buzz in front of him and Nel appeared there without a word. He couldn't see her eyes. She whipped her hand back and punched Kodoku across the jaw.

Hard.

Kodoku's neck snapped sideways, but other than that he didn't move. Not bothering to move at all to comfort his stinging jaw, he glared sideways at Nel. She stepped a bit closer to him, and standing on the tip of her feet, whispered something into Kodoku's ear. His eyes widened marginally, and his shoulders slumped.

"Let's just go," Kodoku interupted her. She stepped back, satisfied. With a static buzz, the two Vasto Lorde vanished.

* * *

><p>Sosuke Aizen wasn't always a man who let his emotions rule him. However at the moment he couldn't help but let a self satisfied smirk cross his face. He'd just diposed of Central 46, and moved his plans to the next phase; gathering his future army. In just a few months, they'd all be full fledged arrancar, the most powerful of which would be appointed to his personal force.<p>

He thought it'd be fitting to name them after an old legend in Hueco Mundo, that of the Espada. A particular book of Aizen's had gone into great detail about the original Espada. It had said that when they raw forces of the universe were being established, ten hollows were born from ten different elements. These hollows were beyond the power of anything the inhabitants of Hueco Mundo had ever seen, and were the first Vasto Lorde. The ten hollows united to form the Espada, and served to rule Hueco Mundo. The top four Espada had powers even beyond that of their fellow Vasto Lorde, and were the top Espada as a result.

They kept the entire land in order, and at the time,it was the first great civilization. It's lands were fertile and its cities touched the blue sky. The Espada lived in an enormous palace they called Las Noches, their black citadel. For the time things were good, and the Espada were just. However the top two Espada, two men, fell in love with the same woman, the lowest ranked of the Espada. This led to tensions between the two, who unlike the rest of the Espada, were very closely matched in power. Soon the other Espada began to take sides, and civil war threatened to break out Hueco Mundo. Unbeknownst to the Espada, a shinigami appeared among the people of Hueco Mundo, twisting their minds and wills into believing the only course of action was to do away with Espada.

So when the Espada prepared to clash above Las Noches, the shingami appeared and gathered them all into the throne room. Once he had them all assembled, he borrowed the power of the souls of Hueco Mundo's people, and used their strength to invoke a powerful seal, chaining the Espada up deep beneath Hueco Mundo. As in response to the betrayal of their people, each of the Espada had their vengeance upon Hueco Mundo.

The top Espada made the land convulse and never again would it bear fruit. The second Espada sent an eternal wind out, so it destroyed the cities of the land and no cities could ever be built again. The third Espada set fire to the lands and never again would they be fertile, but always dry and barren. The fourth Espada sent out darkness and never again would the sun shine on Hueco Mundo. The shinigami marshalled the hollows remaining, and tryed to lead them in an assault against the still forming Soul Society. However with their depleted resources, the hollows began to fight amongst themselves, resorting to eating each other to survive. Soon some hollows went to the human world to feed. It was clear the shingami's rule was in name only. For a while the Shingami ruled over this land of chaos and bloodshed, but soon disapeared, and no hollow knew what had happened to him.

Aizen let his smirk grow a little more. He'd succeed where that shingami of legend had failed. He'd use his hollow army to dethrone the Soul King. Aizen stopped his walking for a second to to take something out of his haori pocket. Contained within his fist was an orb of purple light, so similar to what he sought, yet worlds apart from it. Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen looked to him questioningly, wondering why they'd stopped, especially after Aizen had urged them to go in this direction. His smirk grew into a full blown malicious smile.

"Thank you," he said, as two buzzes sounded behind them.

* * *

><p>Kodoku and Nel slowed down out of sonido speeds behind the three shinigami. They were far west, relative to Tia's home. Here, the dunes of sand were high, and when standing in one of their shadows, one could just barely see the moon. This sand was full of hidden sinkholes that lead down into the Menos Forest and below.<p>

"Thank you for saving us the trouble of finding you," the man in the middle of the three said, turning to face them.

He had long but well kept brown hair, glasses and a gentle looking face. The man's spiritual pressure was a totally different story. It was malicious, evil and monstrously large. Even though Kodoku suspected the man was hiding a good portion of his spiritual pressure, there was still enough present to make Kodoku wary of engaing him. The two other shingami were less remarkale. The dark skinnned man seemed to be your standard captain level shingami. The one with the narrowed eyes and foxlike grin seemed to be standard as well, or at leasting pretending to be. There was something in the way Kodoku couldn't get a goood read on the pale haired man that made him seem more complex than his two partners. Nel kept a hard gaze on the leader and what the hollows assumed were his subordiantes, ready to fight. The tension in the air hung thick, and was only surpassed by the combined weight of five above captain level beings' spiritual pressure. As if two storm fields were coliding, electricity crackled in the air around them.

"So you were looking for us," Kodoku said simply, only looking at the shingami in the center.

"Yes," he said, his mouth curling into a disarming smile, one which Kodoku could sense was a farce, "I have come to make an of-"

"Cut the crap," Kodoku said clenching his claws, "I've heard of you and your hollow army, and we're not intersted."

The man frowned, the only sign he was annoyed. But in a second it was gone and the cruel smile was back in place.

"A deal then," he said, and taking Kodoku's silence as an acknoledgement, "If I beat you in combat, you and your companion must listen to what I have to say. If you beat me, I'll leave the both of you alone."

Kodoku nodded. In that instant, a storm of reiatsu exploded from Kodoku. Large winglike structures formed above his shoulder blades and a long tail grew from his rear. His crests grew in length, and his black hair retracted into his skull. His claws grew, and his spiritual pressure soon leveled off.

"Sounds good," Kodoku said, his voice containing much more power than before, "but if I beat you, you die, shingami."

"Fair enough," said shinigami responded amiably, his smile evil contradicting his tone. He motioned for the other two shingami to go somewhere.

Kodoku glanced at Nel. She got the message and followed the two shingami. Once the three were gone, the man flexed out his spiritual pressure, matching Kodoku's. Kodoku breathed in deeply, then exhaling, leapt towards the shinigami. The man drew his blade, and swung it horizontally at Kodoku, who caught the blade in an iron grip. The two strained against each other for a few seconds, before both figures became shrouded in reiatsu. The shinigami glowed purple, while Kodoku glowed blue. As if by mutual consent the two began to fully release their reiatsu, turning their personal halos of light into conflicting comets of energy grinding against each other. Wind began to explode outwards from where the two gods met. The sand at their feet began to collapse in on itself, forming an enourmous hole below the two opposing comets of blue and purple reiatsu.

A trickle of red blood began to run down Kodoku's arm. Slowly, the shinigami's blade was slicing into Kodoku's hand. Suddenly an icy blue light began to shine from the hand Kodoku was using to hold the shinigami's blade. The shinigami's eyes widened fractionally.

* * *

><p>A brilliant flash of blue and a cero's dull thud ripped through the desert.<p>

Nel and the two shinigami shaded their eyes as the first of many explosions burst forth from where the two titans were fighting. Wind and sand were thrown at them, and they could make out two figures clashng in the flames. They seemed to pay their sorrounding When they met, a massive concusion of power would rush outwards, shaking the desert. The shingami seemed to be easily defending himself from the attacks of the Vasto Lorde was dishing out, avoiding the destructive slashes by a hair's breath every time, yet somehow it didn't seem like luck. The shinigami was on a whole different level, and Nel knew it.

"Ya gunna go help out yer friend?" the man with the slanted eyes asked, still looking at the explosion, "I'm pretty surprised ya not fightin' us."

"He doesn't want it," Nel responded her gaze, too locked on the fight, "but when he needs it, I'll be there for him. Unless the situation demands it, I won't cause unnessicary bloodshed."

"That's noble of you," the blind man with dark skin said with a newfound respect for the female hollow, "but your friend will not win against Captain Aizen."

Nel didn't respond, but instead silently clapsed her hands together. Another earth shaking explosion rushed outwards from the battle site. If there was a god out there, she thought, please let Kodoku stay alive. That's all she asked.

The flames from Kodoku's cero soon disapated, and the two fighters jumped back, smoke clinging to their forms. The shingami had a faint trickle of blood coming from his hairline, and a shallow, but long, claw mark across his chest. Kodoku was much worse off. His right pseudo wing had the top 3/4 of it severed at such an angle, the slash mark continued down his chest. His face plate was cracked in multipe places, exposing a pale visage. Kodoku swished his tail in annoyance. He wasn't doing anything to faze the shinigami.

The two exchanged a look as they hovered in midair over the near bottomless crater.

"Shall we go elsewhere?" the shinigami asked, the same air off complete faith in his own infallibility sorrounding him.

"If you insist," Kodoku said, trying desperately to keep the bite of impatience out of his voice.

The shinigami's smirk grew at Kodoku's thinky veiled frustration. Once again as if by mutual consent, they bothe vanished. When they reappeared, they were standing about half a mile from the crater, in similar terrain of hogh dunes. Silence prevailed over the battlefield. The shinigami cocked his head at Kodoku, daring him to attack.

Scowling, Kodoku once again used sonido to appear above the shingami. Twisting in midair, Kodoku brought his fist down at the shingami, who raised his blade to easily block the blow. Kodoku raised his other fist and struck down, except this blow was punctuated with a concussion of wind. The attack slammed himself and the shingami into a crater, and throwing up a large amount of sand.

With his sword arm occupied, the shinigami struck Kodoku in the face with his left hand. Kodoku immediately jumped back. His cracked mask began to repair itself, but not before revealing a pale grimacing mouth. The shinigami looked down at his hand. His middle and index fingers were bent at odd angles.

"Quite the hard head you have there, Kodoku," the shingami drawled, displaying his broken fingers for Kodoku to see.

"I hesitate to wonder how you know my name," Kodoku spat, clicking his claws impatiently. Subtley, Kodoku began to amass his reiatsu.

"Well the answer is very simple," he said, lowering his blade, "I know you, better than you yourself do."

"Eat shit," Kodoku growled, letting his anger get the best of him and spinning aroundr on the tips of his feet and flaring out his wings, he sent dozens of darts of potent reiatsu at the shingami.

The shingami's blade moved faster than Kodoku would've thought possible and cut through each dart. It didn't matter though, as the small bursts of light still detonated. More blue explosions tore into the desert, turning small patches of sand into glass. Kodoku didn't waste any time and plunged into the smoke, a sphere of wind displacing the debris around him. About half way in, he met the shinigami in midair and lashed out with his right leg. The shingami blocked it easily, so with an enormous effort Kodoku pushed him back and spun around to lash out with the heel of his left foot. The shinigami raised his blade to block again, and the resulting shock wave disapated the dust around them.

The two beings strained against each other, and a cloud of light blue and purple reiatsu began to collect around them. The two energies swirled and mixed together until they were blown away by a burst of solid white power. When he was no longer making any progress, Kodoku planted his other foot on the shinigami's blade and pushed off. Over the course of their battle they'd gradually climbed in elevation.

The shinigami opened his mouth to speak again, but Kodoku silenced him with a bestial roar. Instantly Kodoku's arms lit up with eletrical reiatsu, the energy especially profound around his arm blades. Kodoku lunged towards the shinigami, swinging his electricity cloaked arms at him with deadly percision. His first swipe was parried, so Kodoku swung his opposite arm towards the shingami's midsection.

A satisfied smirk formed behind Kodoku's mask as he felt his clawed fingers pass through flesh. The shinigami jumped backwards, and examined his wound. The attack had left three parallel slashes in the shingami's stomach, crisscrossing with the previous wound Kodoku inflicted. The shinigami seemed to regard Kodoku with a bit more caution.

Pointing a claw at him, Kodoku unleashed a comet-like blast of eletrical spiritual pressure. Th shinigami side stepped it only to whirl around and block a swipe from Kodoku's tail. Kodoku disapeared again, this time reapearing at the shinigami's right. Kodoku straightened his fingers and swept his hand forward, flicking his wrist at the last minute and sending a blade of wind tearing at the shinigami. The attack was at too close a range to dodge, so the shinigami raised his blade to block.

Kodoku smirked again.

The cresent blade of wind sent the shinigami hurtling backwards from his position in midair, and as he was flying backwards, Kodoku appeared above him, the heels of his palms together. The shinigami looked up in surprise, but couldn't do anything both of his hands were using his sword to defend from the blade of condensed air. Spreading his wings to steady him, Kodoku loosed a massive blast of air from his hands.

It was invisible aside from a slight distortion in the air. Its effects, however, were all to visible. The column of air sent the shinigami downwards at an almost unnatural pace, going from hundreds of feet in the air to slamming into the desert below in a fraction of a second. The attack didn't stop there, and continued to pound the shinigami into the ground, blowing aside massive ammounts of sand as it created an crater that was more than half a mile across. The only sign the invisible assault had ceased was that the destruction it was causing stopped. Kodoku looked down at the crater, and his eyes picked up the shinigami instantly. He was im a crumpled heap but still very much alive.

The shinigami stood up slowly, the attack leaving even him gasping for breath. Though, relatively unharmed, the shingami's body now featured a massive bruise on his back from his contact with the desert floor. He looked up to his opponent, who was glaring down at him. Once he regained his breath, the shinigami stood back up to his full height and his arrogant personality returned. Before he could say anything, Kodoku pointed both his index claws at the shinigami.

With a roar he sent dozens of massive comet like blasts of electricity at him by jabbing his fingers forward. The attacks They each connected to the desert floor with a discharge of jagged blue power and a low frequency sound wave.

Smoke was trailing upwards lazily from the crater. Within it, the shinigami slashed his blade in horizontal line, dispelling it. Kodoku noted with more than a hint of annoyance that the shinigami was relatively unhurt. Electricity jumped from the air around the crater, and a sourceless, dull roar permeated the air.

"Are you waiting for an invitation?" he called up to Kodoku, spreading his arms. His voice managed to rise above the of the aftermath of Kodoku's attacks.

"No," Kodoku responded, "but I was wondering if your staying on the ground was s sign of your surrender."

The shinigami laughed cruelly, the sound so much more sharpness and verocity than the roar of electricity.

"You obviously have great speed, and incredible destructive abilities, but they're next to useless in a small space. Thats why you favor the air, and with those wings, your maneuverablity is far greater than mine."

"So you wish to fight on the ground, where I have less space to move?" Kodoku asked, not because he didn't know the answer, but to hear what the shinigami said. Slowly, Kodoku was compliling a mental picture of the shinigami, and once he was finished, Kodoku could predict any move he'd make.

"Well yes," the shinigami said, "it is the strategic choice, is it not?"

Kodoku snorted.

"It is cowardly, is it not?"

"No more cowardly than you not coming down to face me."

Kodoku tched. With a static buzz he appeared ten feet from the shinigami. Taking slow, deliberate steps, Kodoku began to circle the shinigami. The shinigami didn't bother to turn, but followed Kodoku with his eyes.

"As i said before," he stated that all knowing smirk crossing his face as he spoke, "I know you more than you do yourself, Kodoku Takahashi."

Kodoku continued to circle the shinigami, but was intently listening to what he was saying. As time wore on, the two refused to make a move on the other and the moon disapeared behind the lip of the crater, shrouding the two in darkness.

"And I'm curious," he continued, pausing when they lost sight of each other.

"What'll happen to Ms. Oderschvank when you eventually lose control of Fear?"

The shinigami, confident that had shaken Kodoku, let his blade hang limp at his side. Kodoku didn't move, his eyes fixed on the shingami. How'd he know about Fear? Could he risk eliminating him if he knew about it? Could he afford to pass the chance? He looked once again at the shinigami. Who knew what his true intentions were, but Kodoku knew he was after something big. Maybe it would benifit him and Nel...

The shinigami heard a buzz above him again, and reflexively slashed his blade through the hollow. He was surprised when his blade passed right through Kodoku and didn't damage him. The shinigami heard another buzz a few feet away and the hollow appeared, a massive orb of blue light floating above his palm. Kodoku knew he'd never be able to trust this man with his life. But there might be some benefits with going along with him. That is, if the shinigami could beat him.

After image, the shinigami thought, then raised his blade in order to block the enormous cero. The shingami heard yet another buzz. Kodoku was now right in front of him, pressing the orb into his chest. For the first time in their battle the shingami felt a sliver of fear. However this sliver was not enough to prevent the shinigami from making the split second decision he needed to make to avoid a sticky situation. It was a pity though. He hadn't wanted to use this, but he knew it would be tough to win without it. Besides...

He had a schedule to keep.

"Shatter," he whispered as the hollow unleashed the cero.

In terms of ceros it was titanic. The blast could be seen for miles around, and its impossibly wide blast radius consumed Kodoku's vision. It threw rivers of sand out of the way as its massive force barreled through. The backlash from the attack threw up another gout of sand behind Kodoku. Slowly, the massive blast shrunk down to a trickle of light, then vanished. Kodoku's eyes widened. There, standing in the wake of the destruction, was the shinigami, completely unharmed, his wounds from their earlier exchanges gone.

He simply stood there, not saying a word. Frustration boiled over in Kodoku, and letting loose a terrible roar he flew at the shinigami. He brought back a clawed hand and slashed it at the shinigami, intent upon decapitating him. To Kodoku's surprise, when his hand came into contact with the shinigami, he merely stood there, and let Kodoku rip clean through his neck. The shinigami's head went pinwheeling into a dune a hundred feet away from the raw force of Kodoku's attacks. His body fell slowly into a limp heap.

Kodoku stood over the shinigami's remains looking at them skeptically. He'd certainly felt as though he'd severed his spinal column, and the air reeked of his blood. Kodoku looked at his right hand. Sure enough there was the shinigami's blood.

Suddenly his vision grew fuzzy. He looked down at himself. There was a hand sized hole in his armored stomach, just below his hollow hole. Thick streams of blood came from the wound, more than enough, Kodoku knew, to incapitate him. He raised his hands, the same ones that had torn into the shinigami a second ago. With sickening apathy he realized the blood was his own. He swayed slightly where he stood. He'd suspected the shinigami had some sort of special ability, but this? He also had thought it had ended too quickly, but he'd never thought'd he'd give himself a crippling blow. How could the shinigami've done this?

Kodoku grunted in pain when he felt something cold pass through his body, nearly splitting his right shoulder and arm from the rest of his body. Kodoku sunk to his knees, a cold feeling taking over in his extremities, the slowly making its way towards his hollow hole. He didn't have enough reiatsu to heal himself. Dragging his bloodied blade along the sand, the shinigami walked in front of Kodoku.

"It's a pity," he said his voice sounding far off and insignificant to Kodoku, "for you to have seen my true strength this way."

Just as slowly as he'd come, the shinigami began to walk away. Strangely, Kodoku couldn't bring himself to care. This must be the infinite calm of death, he thought. So this wasn't his true feare either. Normally he would've been annoyed,mbut as the feeling left his body he could only be lightly interested, as if it was the misfortune of another. If death wasn't his true fear then what was? Now that his thoughts seemed to be unaffected by time, he felt as though he could contemplate ot forever. All of the sudden he felt a thump in his ears. His fading vision caught sight of an indistinct green splotch. He could almost grasp it now, his true fear. The green spot came closer to him and he heard a slight buzzing in his ears.

Don't die...

Don't die, Kodoku...

Where was this sound coming from? Kodoku? Was that his name? He couldn't remember. All that concerned him, for some unknown reason was this...true...fear of his. Or was it smeone else's? No..all that mattered was what it was...

Don't leave me Kodoku!

As he thought harder he could just barely recall a name.

N...

Nel...

* * *

><p><em>Kodoku's eyes were flooded with light. Damn, it was bright. But his body didn't respond to his command to squint. In fact, it seemed adamant on doing nothing but laying there. He could feel his own breathing, yet he wasn't in control of it. There was a slight weight pressing evenly on his body. He was lying down on something feather soft.<em>

_All of the sudden, he threw of the thin blanket that covered him. Looking down, he saw his body was pale, and muscular, covered in skin rather than silver armor. His lower half was covered by a dark blue robe, with light blue designs flitting through it. Long, silvery hair fell down to his chest. Without his permission, a pale hand went up to brush it out of his face. _

_He was in a large, room made of obsidian, with veins of silver, blue and almost every color imaginable, and from and enormous circle in the ceiling, a ridiculously bright sun shone through. There were long, arching glassless windows circling the entire chamber, and the walls seemed more window than wall. He stood, and strode over to the window. Kodoku would've widened his eyes if he was in control of this body._

_Before his eyes was a massive city, made of the same obsidian stone. Greenery was everywhere. People walked the streets; people, not hollows. Was this Hueco Mundo? Strangely, Kodoku felt sure it was. _

_He heard something in the room rustle. It could've only been coming from the bed. Though Kodoku was surprised, his body didn't seem to be. He glanced over his shoulder._

_Now sitting up in his bed was a woman. Her hair was long, and a glowing yellow, her groggy eyes a fierce orange. The thin blanket barely hid her bare breasts, and her long legs fell out from under the covers. She was of an angelic beauty Kodoku had never seen before. Her plump lips whispered;_

"_Venite, Caelus."_

_He felt himself smile, a tender smile that, once again, Kodoku was unfamiliar with._

"_Scis me eundum, Tracta"_

_She looked a bit disappointed but, she stood, drawing the blanket around her shoulders. Kodoku felt his eyes drawn to her form, beautiful in its femininity. She was slender, but well developed. Womanly, but unencumbered by the fact._

_She reached him and wrapped the blanket around him. He found his hands automatically going to her sides, and pulling her flush against him. She was soft against the lean muscles of his chest and stomach. Kodoku felt something strange well up inside himself. He felt as though this woman was his world, his sole purpose in existing. But it wasn't he who felt this way; it was this man whose body now seemed to be Kodoku's own._

_His lips were on hers for a moment, but he pulled back a hair, and breathed onto her lips._

"_Quid me tentatis manere, amator?"_

"_Quoniam meae sunt coram te rex."_

* * *

><p>Kodoku's eyes shot open. A black sky and a dimly lit thin crescent moon. Hueco Mundo. He was Kodoku Takashi, a Vasto Lorde. He was no longer the strange silver haired man. He sat up immediately, looking wildly about. Instantly pain shot from the right side of his chest to his hip. He reached a hand up to feel it, and felt...flesh.<p>

His eyes widened, and he looked down at himself. The right side of chest, right arm and lower abdomen were bare, exposing pale and taut skin. Marring the flesh was a thick, straight scar that stretched from his upper shoulder to the middle of his abdomen. As he reached to feel it the pain intensified and he remembered how he'd received it. The shinigami. All thoughts of his vision flew to the back of his mind.

Fighting the intense pain, Kodoku stood up. To his great surprise his legs were covered in a white garment similar to that the shinigami had been wearing. Even more surprising was the fact that his right foot was devoid of armor, and was now made of the same flesh his entire right side seemed to be made of. He turned in circles looking at himself. He'd been divided in half down the center of his hollow hole. One half was the body of a man, and the other that of a hollow.

He also noted with vague amusement he no longer had a tail. At this he let out a chuckle.

"Having fun?" a voice rang out behind him. He turned to the source of the voice, a curvaceous female hollow with green hair. Green hair...

"Nel?" Kodoku asked. His voice was strange to him, containing an echoic undertone to it. Memories flooded through his mind filling in the gaps his injury seemed to have left.

"Who else?" she asked playfully, laughing joyfully at the sight of him.

She gracefully rose from a rock a few yards away, uncrossing her long legs and bounding over to Kodoku. She jumped on him with child-like enthusiasm, the force spinning Kodoku around. He let out a pleased laugh of his own and flowed with the kinetic energy she provided and allowed her to spin around a few times in his arms.

He set her down easily, and beheld her disheveled hair. They looked at each other for a second, and then broke out laughing again. Neither could quite tell why they were laughing. Unable to help himself, Kodoku grinned. Her laughing stopped abruptly. That strange feeling he'd felt in his vision. He could feel it on the periphery of his emotional perception. There, but just out of reach.

He looked at Nel strangely. She seemed to be transfixed by his mouth, and its ability to curve upwards. Kodoku frowned at her, and her eyes darted to his brow.

"What?" he asked, inclining his head, "Is it really that strange?"

"Kind of," Nel said still studying his the exposed half of his face, "Now I know what kind of expressions you're making when I talk to you."

He nodded at this, his brows furrowing slightly. Experimentally, he flexed his armored arm, then his flesh arm. Both got the same result, a sudden burst of air. So his powers hadn't been weakened. If anything he felt stronger. As soon as this thought crossed his mind he began to wonder how things had turned out the way they did, and her realized he didn't have the faintest clue. He looked around.

They were in a large and steadily expanding crater. In the center was an orb of green energy that seemed to be the cause. As he swiveled his gaze, he took in the sight of other hollows. There was an adjuchas hollow with large plate like scales covering its entire body. It arms seemed to have two enormous disks attached to them. Its head was a simple block with holes cut out to reveal golden eyes. On the lip of the crater was an even stranger hollow.

From its massive spiritual pressure it was obviously a Vasto Lorde, yet it took the form of deer with bull like horns, and a long tail. It was solid white with lines of black crisscrossing on its back. Its eyes were a strange midnight blue that almost seemed black. Its head turned sharply to look at Kodoku, its midnight eyes widening.

Lying face down a few feet from them was large adjuchas class hollow, with wide set shoulders and rough, rigid brown armor covering its body. Other than those three, there were many hollows, but none stood out to Kodoku's eye. He then looked back at himself.

"What happened to me, Nel?" Kodoku asked, a confused frown contracting his brow and pulling down the corners of his mouth.

As the words left his mouth he heard three simultaneous whispers and the three shinigami from before appeared at the top of the crater. Nel noticed them too, but kept her gaze locked on Kodoku.

"Well," she said, pausing to contemplate how to say it, "The shinigami struck you down, and said you were going to die. He asked me if i wanted you to live, and I said yes. So he pulls out a purple orb from his pocket and touches it to your hollow hole, and your wound seals up, but you, obviously, underwent a transformation as a result."

By the time the finished, the leader of the shinigami, the one with the brown hair, had made his way over to the two Vasto Lorde. He looked smug as if from wherever he came, things were going his way.

"A partial shinigamification," he said, showing them a now dull, and colorless orb, "It was supposed to be able to convert one hollow into a true arrancar. It seems as though its power was used up before it could fully shinigamify you."

Kodoku looked blankly at him, and nodded. After a second, Kodoku dropped down onto one knee.

"You have defeated me, Shinigami," Kodoku said solemnly, "and you have healed me. I will listen to what you have to say."

The shinigami's smile grew at this, and Kodoku almost regretted his decision to abide by his honor.

"Very honorable of you," the shinigami said, "and I'm grateful you didn't run off with Ms. Oderschvank the minute you regained consciousness."

"Well, I'm assuming you already spoke with her while I was out," Kodoku said, casually slinking to his feet, "Otherwise she'd be a bit more on guard."

Nel looked at him strangely, a silent congratulations on figuring that out by the slight change in her demeanor. After smirking slightly at Nel, he nodded at the shinigami to continue.

"My name," he said, with an air of a practiced and well thought out speech, "Is Sosuke Aizen, captain of the 5th division of the Gotei 13. You, having lived in Hueco Mundo for as long as you have, have surely realized this; there is no god. No one stands in the heavens. No one is there, Kodoku. There is only a cold void that serves as the consummation point of our hopes of a higher existence and understanding. I've told all the others my ultimate wish is to become the Soul King. But, to you, Kodoku, I will entrust my true purpose. I wish to become God."

Kodoku looked at the man, Sosuke Aizen, with an impassive gaze, filing and processing the information within seconds. He could not only understand this wish but in a strange sense empathize with it. Kodoku of all people desired to understand the world, and himself.

Kodoku blinked.

He stopped himself. If he truly put all his hopes with this man, than he would genuinely become his god.

"I will follow you, and you will teach me to control fear," Kodoku said looking at Aizen, and seeing him in his entirety, "But know this; there is a difference between Gods and Kings."

Aizen looked slightly startled for a moment.

"I am aware, Kodoku Takahashi," he said, and then his face degenerated into his cruel smirk. He then turned to Nel. He'd recovered completely, now.

"And what of you?" he asked, already knowing what her answer would be. Nel looked to Kodoku, who flashed her a half grin that looked very strange on his mismatched face

"Well, I wouldn't leave this one alone," she said, implying her consent, "I shudder to think what kind of trouble he'd get himself into."

Aizen could barely suppress his glee, and Kodoku noticed the slight twitching of his mouth.

"Excellent," he clasping his hands together and looking to his new soldiers, "Then I have an assignment for the two of you; in a day's time I will be announcing my defection from the Soul Society. Naturally I don't think it'll go over well with everyone present. And on top of that, the most powerful shinigami in the Soul Society will all be gathered there. Your task is to provide myself and my associates, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tousen with an escape route."

"Why not just leave?" Nel asked, "If you know that all your enemies will be there, why choose then to escape?"

"Because," Kodoku answered for Aizen, "It wouldn't have the same effect. And besides, a god cannot be seen as one unless he produces a miracle, right?"

Aizen looked at Kodoku piercingly. The shinigamification was already beginning to expand upon his already vast intelligence. Kodoku had gone back to conversing with Nel. Gin joined in, and Nel laughed at a joke he made. Kodoku had his gaze turned lazily at the sky. He too was noticing the metaphysical changes the shinigamification had wrought. Aizen scratched his chin in contemplation.

He would have to keep a very close eye on Kodoku; he was one of the only variables in his plan.

* * *

><p>Soul Society: Sokyoku Hill<p>

* * *

><p>After the events of a century ago, Yoruichi Shihoin wasn't surprised Aizen was announcing his betrayal. She along with every other powerful spiritual being had heard Isane Kotetsu's proclamation, and was speeding towards Sokyoku Hill, where she could feel the traitors large spiritual pressure.<p>

"Yoruichi-sama!"

Yoruichi turned, but didn't slow down. As the world blurred around her a figure came into focus.

"Soi-Fon," Yoruichi grinned at her former subordinate and captain of the 2nd Division, "Come to join me in one more run?"

The short dark haired woman nodded. Yoruichi noticed she'd recovered quickly from their previous battle. Not that had actually fought to a conclusion. The real miracle in her opinion was how quickly Soi-Fon had recovered from her emotional breakdown. Then again, Yoruichi'd always thought she was a tough girl. The pair was making good time, but they weren't going to make it in time. None of the captains would.

Yoruichi could feel Ichigo's spiritual pressure drop off, right after that of Renji Abarai. With another pang she felt Rukia's already feeble spiritual pressure fade away to nothing. Directly after, two more spiritual pressures appeared on the hill. Tousen and Gin. All the traitors were assembled. Gin's spiritual pressure spiked, and to Yoruichi's surprise Byakuya's spiritual pressure dropped dramatically. With relief she noticed that the first of the captains, Sajin Komamura, had arrived. The pair felt the massive weight of bankai being released. They sped up, trying to get there in time to assist Komamura. The two stopped dead when Aizen's spiritual pressure grew, and Komamura's fell in an instant.

"Soi-Fon!" Yoruichi yelled. She nodded.

The two accelerated to unreal speeds, speeds only the most proficient in shunpo could achieve. Soon, Sokyoku Hill was within sight. They saw a faint splotch of blackness and out of it emerged Komamura, his fox like body lacerated by the high level kido. His enormous bankai fell to the ground with a massive thud, crushing the forest and buildings below. Yoruichi and Soi-Fon vanished again.

When they reappeared they were restraining Aizen, Yoruichi positioned in front of him, and Soi-Fon pointing her shikai at the back of his neck.

"Don't move, Aizen," Yoruichi said, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Or we'll cut your head clean off," Soi-Fon completed.

To their surprise Aizen chuckled, not at all worried.

"Well, I must say, I'm surprised to see you, Yoruichi," he said, not even blinking at the the blade pressed against his nape.

Suddenly there was a flurry of movement and dozens of bodies appeared on Sokyoku Hill. Everyone capable of fighting in the Gotei 13 had gathered. Gin Ichimaru's hand was grabbed and he felt a cold blade against his neck.

"That you, Rangiku?" he asked, sounding relatively pleased.

"Why, Gin?" the strawberry blonde asked, keeping her blade firm against his throat.

Gin declined to answer. He could feel a tremor run along her body, which was barely touching his back. Tousen was being held by Shuuhei Hisagi's double bladed scythes. Aizen however was not worried about them in the slightest, and looked to the Head Captain. The Captain Commander regarded Aizen coldly.

"This joke ends now, Aizen," the 1st Division captain stated calmly, "you have nowhere to run."

Aizen smirked. In that instant, Yoruichi knew something was wrong.

"That," he said equally calm, "Is where you are wrong, Head Captain."

With that said, a massive tearing sound could be heard above Sokyoku Hill. Everyone's, except Aizen's, head swiveled to look up at the sky where a relatively small garganta was opening. The black void opened to reveal a figure but before they could focus on it vanished. A buzz resounded in front of Aizen.

"Please step back," came a distorted, echoic voice.

Yoruichi whirled around, and the Gotei 13 drew their blades. Standing before Yoruichi was perhaps the strangest being she'd ever encountered.

He had white hakama pants, and half his body was covered in intricate silver armor, and the other half was that of a pale man. His right side was covered in lean, sinewy defined muscles, and a large hollow hole existed in his chest, strangely merging his two halves.

His left face was covered by half a modified knight's helmet with one short crest. The right side of his face was that of a man with handsome regal features and strange blue eyes. The hair of his hollow form was black, while the hair that fell into his unarmored face was silver.

He towered over Yoruichi, gazing down at her with the confidence of one with power, a confidence she knew was impossible to duplicate.

"Shinigami," he said, addressing Soi-Fon, herself, Shuuhei Hisagi and Rangiku Matsumoto, "Step back."

The two lieutenants exchanged confused glances, but in the end decided to hold fast. The strange man-hollow sighed, the sound containing a eerie echoing undertone. He raised his hands to chest level.

"Get back!" Yoruichi yelled, grabbing Soi-Fon and jumping away. The lieutenants made a similar move but they weren't quick enough. None of them were.

The hollow moved his limbs faster than anyone would've thought possible and slammed his fists together, unleashing a large sphere of wind. It expanded at a wicked rate, consuming the entire hill within seconds. It knocked the lieutenants, Soi-Fon and Yoruichi back. The other shinigami braced themselves against the powerful onslaught, but only the captains managed to hold their position within a few feet. With no one near the three traitor captains, the hollow raised its hand and snapped its fingers. To the shinigami's surprise four pillars of icy blue light shot up to the garganta, which was widening to accommodate them. The ground surrounding their feet cracked, and the four rose on large chunks of stone.

"Stay back," Head Captain Yamamoto said commandingly, "They're all untouchable at the moment thanks to that hollow's negacion. They use it to bring their own back to Hueco Mundo."

"So you've allied yourself with the Vasto Lordes? How far have you fallen, Aizen?" Ukitake asked as Aizen and his subordinates rose at a steady pace towards the black void.

Aizen shook his head in mock sadness.

"You're too proud Ukitake," he stated, taking off his glasses and slicking back his hair, "No one stands in heaven, not you and not God. From this moment on, I've started my journey to the heavens. You'd all do well not to interfere. Ah yes, and Ichigo Kurosaki."

Said orange haired substitute shinigami raised his head weakly to look at Aizen.

"Learn to curb your fear of me, if you ever wish to defeat me."

Ichigo's head went down; Aizen was right. He did fear him.

"KANAME!" came an enormous roar from the ground. Komamura had recovered enough to stand, and was holding his zanpakuto limply at his side, "You were always a man of justice! How could you think to betray us? Where lies your justice, friend, for I can no longer see it!"

"Sajin, my friend, the path of justice is the path of the least bloodshed. You cannot see it now, but I assure you, I walk the path of justice."

Komamura continued to look at his former friend in disbelief. During these exchanges, Yoruichi noticed the hollow had been studying her. She looked back at him defiantly. She saw him cock his head sideways, a slight smirk twisted onto his mouth.

'Still not scared, huh?' Yoruichi heard his voice in her mind. Her eyes widened in recognition.

This was the same hollow that had attacked Seireitei 115 years ago. In hindsight she should've recognized it; the same massive, cataclysmic spiritual pressure, the same silvery armor, the same air of power, the same indescribable quality to his presence that made anyone feel a deep rooted animalistic fear. She also recalled their brief encounter at the 5th Division and a question she hadn't wondered in years came back to her. Why did he spare her?

'Because you interest me, shinigami' came his voice again in her mind. Yoruichi's eyes widened. Was he reading her mind?

'Only because you're letting me. If you wish to sever the link, then do so' She glared at his ascending form. He was quite the arrogant one.

'How?' She saw his grin widen.

'Simply close off your consciousness to me. But before you do, what is your name? I grow weary of calling you shinigami.' She hesitated for a second, considering his question, then closed off her mind.

She saw a slight frown grace his features, and he turned his gaze to the sky, where they'd almost reached the garganta. Once they were inside, she experimentally reached out with her mind. Unsure of herself, she touched his consciousness. She was drawn into a vast sea of vague thoughts, and unconnected emotions, but they calmed, and disappeared once he seemed to realize who she was.

'Yoruichi Shihoin' she said, then immediately withdrew back into her own mind.

It was a rather disorienting experience, and she felt like she had to re learn how to use her senses back in her own body. She blinked and looked up to the sky, only to see he garganta closing, the last thing she saw being a pale, toothily grinning mouth.

* * *

><p>Garganta<p>

* * *

><p>The garganta closed with dull sound, and Aizen looked to the long winding bridge of reiatsu Kodoku had formed. Aizen smiled, the grin befitting his new more villainous appearance. He took out the small crystal from his pocket.<p>

Kodoku eyed it with interest. There was something almost alive about it, something strangely sentient about the way its spiritual pressure and light fluctuated as if it was breathing. It lit the faces of the four men. Kodoku noticed Gin's eyes had opened to regard the orb, revealing they were a sky blue.

"This is what you were really after." Kodoku said, not intending it to be interpreted as a question.

"The Hogyoku," Aizen said, and Kodoku could tell he'd been planning this moment for years; his smile was ferocious. His joy was primal and unguarded, "the Dream Maker, the Granter of Desires. Can't you feel its power? This orb will make me a god."

Kodoku nodded, knowing he wouldn't get a straight answer now. Tousen hadn't said a word since they'd entered the garganta. For minutes on end, they stood in silence, their gaze every so often landing on the crystal orb of purple light.

"Let us be off!" Aizen said, interrupting the silence with barely concealed glee.

The quartet began to walk along the light blue bridge Kodoku's reiatsu made.

Kodoku would've preferred to simply fly through, but the shinigami's souls weren't as dense as hollows' so they would've had a hard time going through without the bridge because unlike the Senkaimon, a Garganta had very harsh conditions inside it, one of which was its omnipresent spiritual pressure, that all but crushed weak shinigami. It was different than regular spiritual pressure in the sense that it didn't emanate from a single point, but existed everywhere in areas of varying intensity.

A number of times Kodoku stared curiously at Gin, wondering why he afforded the Hogyoku his gaze. At one point he'd caught him and stopped walking briefly.

"So what were ya' lookin' at the Shihoin princess fir, Kodi-chan?" Gin asked, grinning at Kodoku, who was scowling back at the pale haired man at his new nickname.

Kodoku rolled his eyes and continued walking. There was much more to Gin Ichimaru, he knew, than met the eye.

* * *

><p>Hueco Mundo: Crater Site<p>

* * *

><p>The garganta carrying the four men deposited them in Hueco Mundo. The group of hollows crowded in the crater looked up as the four touched down. The crater had grown steadily larger, and was now at least two miles in diameter. Unless Kodoku was mistaken, there were multitudes more hollows than had been there when they'd left. As soon as they arrived two buzzes sounded a ways away. Nel appeared, and behind her was another Vasto Lorde.<p>

He was of average height with black hair, and a featureless white body and mask with bat like ears. He had black wings that sprung from his waist, and startling green eyes. Nel was speaking animatedly to him while he nodded every so often, looking around the crater with a polite interest. Nel looked up in surprise to see Kodoku.

"If you'll wait a minute, you can meet the shinigami, Ulquiorra," she said, then appeared in front of Kodoku with a slight buzz. Kodoku grinned at her.

"I see you've been busy," he said, gesturing to the hollows gathered in the crater, "There must be a hundred hollows here."

"Yes," Aizen said, "You have done well Neliel."

After saying that he stepped forward, so that he was standing in midair above the crater.

"Hollows!" he said, his voice carrying around the crater and silencing the hollows present, "You have lived your lives without purpose. Allow me to give you one."

Here he spread his arms and raised the Hogyoku high in the air.

"From this point forward, let us fight for a world where you won't be persecuted by the shinigami. Let us fight for a world where all is just. Let us fight for a world where all can believe in something greater! Let us fight for a perfect world!"

A massive cry went up from the hollows. Nel looked to Kodoku, doubt present in her eyes. Kodoku simply blinked at her then gazed back at Aizen. He clasped her shoulder reassuringly for a second then let go. Aizen's mouth twisted into a vicious smile. The Hogyoku flashed, and the desert for miles and miles around was consumed in a pillar of purple light.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Well, that was fun to write. I guess when it comes down to it that's all that mattered.

Please review if you like-otherwise I won't know that you like it!

[Edit 6/13/12; Added scene at Kodoku's blackout, fixed spelling, some changed dialougues]


	5. The Storm Lies Dormant on the Horizon

**A/N:** Nothing rally to say...merry reading!

10-Madera Marchitez (Decay)

9-Dejara Floja (Apathy)

8-Accalar Colera (Hatred)

7-Grimmjow Jaggerjack (Destruction)

6-Gruesa Venganza (Vengeance)

5-Ulquiorra Schiffer (Emptiness)

4-Nelliel tu Oderschvank (Compassion)

3-Tia Halibel (Sacrifice)

2-Caliga Dalcare (Conflict)

1-Kodoku Takahashi (...)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

The Storm Lies Dormant on the Horizon

* * *

><p>Hammered through life, a nail to seal this demise.<p>

This light will show forever and a day.

This is where I want to be.

-Miss May I

* * *

><p>1 Week After Aizen's Defection<p>

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>Las Noches: East Tower<p>

* * *

><p>Kodoku lazily opened his eyes. He was cold. He swore quietly. The sheets Aizen had given them were always so thin, no matter how many Kodoku piled on top of himself he was always so damn cold. He slung the blankets aside and pulled himself out of his large bed. It would easily fit more than two people, and had a headboard made of pale wood. The blankets were a plain green. He let his bare, fleshy feet touch the ground without a sound, relieved the skin on his soles wasn't so susceptible to the cold. He stood up easily, the bottom of his white hakama pants just barely brushing the ground. He rolled his neck, then twisted his back, and stretched his limbs. He scratched the corner of his broad, bare chest, wondering absentmindedly what Nel was doing. He sighed at the thought of traveling all the way to her palace.<p>

Kodoku's palace in Las Noches, where all Aizen affiliated hollows had been living since a week ago, was, like the rest of the place, massive. Kodoku had been there himself, and still couldn't quite believe the fortress's creation. He could only imagine the kind of power that orb, the Hogyoku had.

* * *

><p><em>Kodoku shaded his eyes as the massive flash of purple light consumed his vision. He could feel the enormous presence of the orbs consciousness around him, enveloping him. It beat out a steady rhythm, strangely reminiscent of a heart beat. He heard the massive rushing of sand, and a large wave of heat passed over him. Then he was flying upwards, still seeing nothing but purple light. With a subsonic rushing sound, the purple energy was dispersed. <em>

_All the hollows that were in the crater were now suspended hundreds of feet in the air by an unseen force. However this was not what was most remarkable detail. Kodoku looked around and found Nel floating a few feet from him. She was looking down, and Kodoku followed her gaze. His blue eyes widened._

_There below them was a gargantuan white complex. It reached hundreds of feet into the air, its highest points passing where the hollows and the three shinigami were assembled. It was easily tens of miles across, if not more. Its central feature was a large dome that encompassed the entire roof. Six tall pillars stood guard around the right and left sides of fortress, one to a corner, and two standing between and slightly set off from the two corner pillars. The hollows stared at the fortress with open disbelief, some of the more eloquent venturing a few choice curses._

_"Our base of operations," Aizen said, placing the still malevolently glowing Hogyoku in his haori pocket._

_He looked around to all the hollows present as they floated in midair. They looked to him with wide, impressionable eyes. Kodoku noticed a few weren't looking at Aizen's miraculous feat with admiration. Among them were an Adjuchas with thick blades for fingers and toes with red eyes, the Adjuchas Kodoku had noticed before with the large shield-like plates on its arms, and the strange deer-like Vasto Lorde. Kodoku filed this information away. They'd be the ones to watch._

_"Welcome to Las Noches, my Espada."_

* * *

><p>Kodoku's palace was one of these pillars, referred to as the Four Towers. Each of the top four Espada, the strongest of Aizen's warriors, received a tower to themselves. Kodoku's was called the East Tower, or as some called it, the Palace of the Sky King, in accordance to Kodoku's ability to manipulate wind and lightning.<p>

It had multiple levels, and Kodoku's room was near the middle. Aizen had insisted that befitting their new, more cultured appearance, all arrancar that didn't know how to read and write would learn.

He'd also constructed a room within Las Noches devoted entirely to books. A library he'd called it. Kodoku was so captivated by the idea he'd spent two entire days in the library after he'd been turned into a full arrancar by the Hogyoku. Nel had practically forced him to go back to the East Tower to get some sleep.

Kodoku frowned at how his thoughts had led him back to Nel. Wasn't he going to do something? That's right; he wanted to go see her. Kodoku began to walk from his bedside into a large, open, rectangular bathroom. Each of the Espada's palaces were equipped with the basic living requirements, but one could find these things anywhere in Las Noches. Kodoku's bathroom featured a pale white in floor bath with a green faucet at the far end a wrap around sink. All the walls were mirrors. Kodoku splashed some water on his face, rubbing the warm, clear liquid all over his face. He'd have to take a proper bath before the Espada meeting later. Bathing had been a foreign concept to him, but after getting used to it, he found it almost pleasant to be clean. He raised his head from over the sink and stepped back to take a look at himself.

Even after his partial transformation, Kodoku was still surprised by his new appearance. Since he'd just gotten up he was shirtless, exposing a pale, well defined torso. He stood at around six feet and his shoulders were proportionately wide. His lower half was covered by a pair of white hakama pants. His hollow hole had grown smaller and was positioned at his sternum, forming a circle straight through him with a 6 inch diameter. A pale scar still stretched from his right shoulder to his hip. He traced over the slightly raised flesh with hesitation, a frown forming on his face.

Kodoku had, as Nel had predicted, regal features. He had high, aristocratic cheeks, a straight nose and a strong shin. He had long, unkempt silver hair that he kept parted over his right eye. The rest covered his left eye and some skin past his right eye.

His right eye was a luminescent blue, with a corona of a more blazing blue around his pupil. Kodoku raised a single hand and raked his hair out of his face. His left eye was quite strange. It was dark blue, with two concentric circles of icy blue laid over top of them. Thin, wavy strands of the same blue flowed from his pupils, crisscrossing over the circles. His mask fragment was a simple, spiked bar of silver that ran through his nose. It had a simpler version of the designs on Kodoku's hollow form etched into it. The left side of the bar was partially covered by Kodoku's hair.

He sighed and ran his left hand through hand through his hair. When his forearm came into his eye line, he could see the pale, black lined bandages that were wrapped around it. A seal. Slowly he reached his opposite hand for the hem of the bandages and began to unwrap them. They fell to the ground, revealing a tattoo of gothic 1 on his forearm. Instantly Kodoku's spiritual pressure rose at a frightening rate, cracking the ground he was standing on. Soon the room itself was shaking. His spiritual pressure was so monstrous that in a few seconds his entire tower was beginning to vibrate from the sheer force. He tried in vain to draw his potent spiritual pressure back into himself, but his reserves were full to the brim. Hastily, he bent down and retrieved the seal. When he finished wrapping up his left arm, the terrifying reiatsu all but vanished, leaving behind only the faintest of trickles.

Kodoku extended a pale, muscular arm to the doorway, turned up his palm to the ceiling and curled his fingers toward himself. There was a rushing sound, and a gust of wind carried some white clothes into the bathroom. He pulled them on and, looking at himself in the mirror, straightened them. His Espada uniform consisted of a white, collared waistcoat, detailed with black along the edges and a floor length, white, hooded coat, both worn open to reveal his defined musculature. The coat had form fitting sleeves, and the hem and the end of the sleeves ended in ragged edges. The collar of his waistcoat reached his chin, and the hood of his coat was pooled on his shoulders. He grinned at the white clothes. If nothing else, Aizen had a sense of elegance.

He drew the hood up, hiding his face and the remainder of his spiritual pressure. Now his vast spiritual pressure was completely hidden. He strode out of the bathroom, still relishing the fluidity and ease of his movements in this form. He continued walking all the way to the opposite side of his room where his zanpakuto was leaning against the wall.

It was an almost overly long katana with a straight western style guard that came to a sharp point on each end. Its guard and handle were pitch black with icy blue wrapping. The blade itself was hidden by a black sheath with silver markings similar to those Kodoku had as a Vasto Lorde. Kodoku picked it up and fastened it to his waist with strap of black interlocking metal scales.

He didn't know if all other arrancar felt so, but whenever he touched his zanpakuto he could feel the raw undiluted power sealed away inside it. On a very primal level, he wanted to simply raze the whole of Hueco Mundo with its power. But Kodoku was above his own destructive instincts. All arrancar should be.

He took a deep breath, and then vanished with the static buzz of sonido.

* * *

><p>Las Noches: West Tower<p>

* * *

><p>Though earlier he'd been annoyed at the thought of traveling all the way to Nel's palace, he'd made it there without much effort. His bare feet touched down outside her door with a buzz, and he hesitated slightly before knocking on the large double doors that led to her room. The two solid raps rung out against the stark silence that pressed down on Las Noches. Currently, there weren't nearly enough hollows to populate the impossibly large fortress. Kodoku heard the light padding of Nel's feet approaching the door. They stopped a foot short of the door, and Kodoku could clearly sense her now. He could also faintly smell something sweet.<p>

"Who is it?" came the gentle voice that Kodoku knew as Nel's.

"Kodoku," he responded, putting his hands in his hakama pockets, "who else?"

The door opened slowly. Kodoku was glad his hood was up as a faint heat came to his face. Nel's arrancar form was that of a beautiful woman with long green hair, which was now done up in a messy ponytail. Her ample chest and delicate curves were covered only by a towel. Her mask fragment was a ram's skull perched on her head. She had kind hazel eyes and sharp features. A red mark stretched across the bridge of her nose. Her full lips turned up in a smile at Kodoku. Kodoku blinked at the dampness of her form.

"Who else indeed," she said turning around and gesturing for Kodoku to follow.

He blinked, and banished the heat from his face at her gently swaying hips. He calmly strode in and plopped himself down onto the sofa in the center of her room. Once he was sitting, Nel turned back to him, and Kodoku scowled at the resurgence of that infernal heat.

"Give me a few minutes to finish bathing," she said simply, then flashed Kodoku a grin and walked back into her bathroom.

Kodoku sighed and drew his legs up into a meditating position. He rested his cheek against the heel of his palm and blew out another sigh. He wasn't exactly used to Nel's new form. Of course he'd thought, based on Nel's diagram of himself, that she'd be beautiful. But it was slightly harder to deal with it in the flesh. Kodoku chuckled at his own abysmal pun.

He closed his eyes in silent meditation, allowing his senses to spread out over the entirety of Las Noches. He could sense a number of average spiritual pressures in the North Wing of Las Noches. The numeros, the less powerful arrancar, and all other weaker hollows were all in their quarters.

In the North Tower he could sense a massive, calm spiritual pressure. A shinigamified Tia, who had joined the day prior. Her underlings hadn't been shinigamified yet, and it must be hard for her to go on without worrying about them. As Kodoku thought more about it, he couldn't really recall them being at Las Noches at all.

In the South Tower he felt the terribly large spiritual pressure of the mysterious, deer like Vasto Lorde, now a fully fledged arrancar.

Kodoku hadn't met her himself, but Nel had told him a story of five numeros who'd gotten too close to her palace. Their forms had simply been reduced to ash at the proximity to her incredible power.

Scattered across the rest of Las Noches were six mammoth spiritual pressures that belonged to the rest of the Espada.

Kodoku almost thought it was overkill. Whoever Aizen's opponents were, one Espada alone could crush an army of shinigami. His frown lifted a bit. Fear hadn't raised his ugly head ever since his shinigamification. His lips almost curled into a content smile, stopping at a half smile. An easy war, a new body, and an assortment of peers; maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he anticipated.

"Done~!"

Kodoku reconsidered his last thought.

Kodoku turned his head to see Nel, forgetting all she could see of his face was a single glowing eye, and offered her a smile. Her Espada uniform consisted of a pair of form fitting pants tucked into a pair of black combat boots, an equally form fitting, sleeveless top with a 'V' that exposed a bit of honey colored skin at the neckline. Her right hand was clad in a fingerless, white glove. A black gothic '4' was tattooed on her left shoulder. She seemed to sense Kodoku's smile, and walked over to sit down close to Kodoku.

The sofa sagged slightly, and the two simply looked at each other.

Their gazes were locked for a few slow seconds, and Nel looked away, and Kodoku thought he saw a red tint on her cheeks. Maybe it was his imagination, because when she turned back to him, her face was clear.

She had a strangely determined look on her face as she reached her gloveless hand up to the hem of Kodoku's hood. Their legs touched briefly and Kodoku noticed she smelled of honey suckles and vanilla. Had she always smelled this good? Or was he just noticing because of this new body?

With almost unnoticeable hesitation, she pulled it down to reveal Kodoku's slightly frowning face. Kodoku saw her features light up with his revealed.

"You know Aizen doesn't want me to let even a hint of my spiritual pressure loose," he said, although favoring to recline and prop his feet on the white coffee table, rather than reaching up to pull his hood back up.

"But I hate having to look at you with the hood on," she said playfully, sidling up to Kodoku, "we don't have masks anymore for a reason right?"

"A reason?" Kodoku asked, his eyes lighting up as he drew upon his vast intelligence, "It's more symbolic of our gaining humanity."

Nel nodded at this, and tucked her long legs beneath her. They sat in silence for a moment.

"You're reading too much." Nel said simply, a slight smirk on her face.

"Too much?" Kodoku asked, looking incredulously at Nel, "That's ridiculous, Nel."

He then launched into a philosophical discussion of the satisfaction of reading. Nel let loose a high laugh at how passionate he'd become about something as trivial as a book in such a short time. Kodoku stopped mid sentence, captivated by the sound. He'd heard Nel laugh before, but as an arrancar he felt as though he appreciated it more.

"What?" she asked her hazel eyes growing serious, her brows drawing together slightly.

"Nothing," Kodoku said, leaning back further into the couch.

Nel nodded, and closed her eyes and rested her head on Kodoku's shoulder. She felt Kodoku's powerful body twitch at the contact, but quickly relax. Kodoku felt the warmth coming from her body, and, once again the scent of honey suckles and vanilla wafted up to his nostrils. Contentment washed over Kodoku.

Kodoku didn't know why he felt as though he needed her close; all he knew is that this inexplicable worry would build up inside him whenever she wasn't within arm's length. It was a strange feeling; he was certain he'd never needed Nel to be this close before. But as he thought on it, he _had_ always needed her close; in case he lost control of Fear, in case he felt a thought he needed to share, in case he simply needed the her presence.

Fear wasn't going to ruin this, not now or ever.

"Don't think about Fear," Nel said softly, her hazel eyes hard as stones.

"How did-" Kodoku's form tensed again.

"Kodoku, I've known your thought process for the past century," She whispered, closing her eyes and silencing him with nudge, "Don't think about Fear."

But of course he did.

* * *

><p>"<em>Do you see how much pain she's in, Kodoku?"<em>

_It spoke with his mouth, and hurt her with his hands. _

_Blood splashed the expanses sand. In front of him, was a crumpled heap of green, white and red. A sliver claw rose yet again. Kodoku screamed for it to stop, but he had not a voice; now, he was merely an observer. It spoke only to Kodoku, mocking the Vasto Lorde who was chained in his own mind._

"_You understand don't you?" the claw blasted a blade of air. A scream of pain, "She is your true fear."_

_He wanted to scream that she wasn't, to scream that she was the only thing that mattered to him, but he didn't. He didn't try; he could sense the truth, and it silenced him. Fear laughed, the sound made more hideous and mad by the fact that it was dripping from his own mouth._

_A buzz._

_A pair of armored, bloodied arms wrapped around his waist. _

_Cascading green hair whispered;_

"_You don't have to be afraid anymore."_

_Fear screamed._

* * *

><p>"I thought I told you not to think about it," Nel admonished with a sultry whisper, nuzzling closer to him.<p>

Suddenly it was all too much for him; her proximity, the brightness of the room, the color of her hair, the beauty of her eyes, the lustful beauty of her form, his thoughts; everything.

Kodoku sprung up, clenching his fists, his power beginning to spill out from the cracks of his seal. The air in the room came alive with his reiatsu.

"'Don't think about?' Is that all you can say?" the Kodoku said, his voice low and shaking with rage, "Nel, I nearly killed you. It haunts me, the sight of you bleeding, every time I'm thinking of nothing. And all you can say to me is '_Don't think about it?_' And you forgave me; as if it was nothing, as if we were just in another argument, as i-"

Nel stood, her hazel eyes once again hardening. In a blur of movement, her hand had connected with Kodoku's cheek.

Silence.

"What would you like me to do? Hate you?" Nel glared at him with equal animosity, "Hatred is for the weak of mind. Do you think I'm weak, Kodoku Takahashi?"

Kodoku's icy eye darkened. He said nothing; his throat was too stopped up with remorse. Nel seemed to realize. Kodoku almost rolled his eyes; just what in this whole damn world didn't Nel realize?

She stepped closer to him, and took both his hands. And just like that, all the tension in the room drained into her, Kodoku's vast reiatsu disappearing entirely.

"Let _me _teach you something, Kodoku," she whispered holding up their hands, making sure he was looking at them, "When the opponent you have to fight is a friend, forgiveness is the sharpest of blades."

He finally looked to her. A strand of her green hair fell lightly between her eyes. With tenderness alien to the storm god, he reached and brushed it out of her face.

"Nel, I-"

A deep rumble shot through the room. Kodoku's eyes widened in surprise. Another rumble.

Kodoku realized within a second that the source was Nel's stomach.

Her face was beet red, and the whole situation smacked Kodoku harder than Nel had a minute prior. The Primera began to laugh. His sides ached, and he continued laughing until an angry, green haired hollow approached him, fist cocked back.

* * *

><p>Las Noches: Cafeteria Hall<p>

* * *

><p>Kodoku massaged his shoulder as he walked. Even with his incredible strength as an arrancar, it seemed as though he wasn't immune to Nel. Despite the fact that his Selective Regeneration would be finished replacing the damaged skin in about a minute, it still stung. Hell, even though he'd let her punch him, if his guard had been any lower she might've broken his arm. It just served to remind Kodoku that Nel was an amazing warrior in her own right.<p>

The pair of Espada walked at a steady pace, not exchanging a word. Kodoku had re-drawn up his hood, once again giving him a mysterious appearance to all arrancar he passed. All they could see of his face, a single glowing blue eye, seemed to see only where he was going, displaying disdain to all else. He had his hands in his pockets, and he didn't appear to care about anything. Secretly, though, he was observing his companion.

Nel walked with an easy grace that came naturally to her, a grace that made her seem to glide along the floor rather than walk across it. Her entire body seemed to go into each slight movement, the simple beauty of her muscles' synchronization automatically drawing the eye. In his mind, which held a great deal of information, he could almost think of a word to describe her. Though many words popped into his mind, beautiful and graceful among them, the perfect word was evading his grasp.

He noticed her brows crinkled, causing little wrinkles to appear on her forehead. He shook his head with a smile. She was still bad at pretending to be angry. Her full lips were drawn into a pout, though the fact that it kept twitching back into a calm line gave her away. Unique? That she certainly was, but that wasn't the word Kodoku was looking for.

Kodoku turned his attention back to his surroundings, sensing they were near their destination. Indeed they were. The cafeteria in Las Noches was an enormous high ceilinged room with four massive circular tables in each corner of the room. In the center there was a large food booth that had multiple arrancar bustling through it, preparing all kinds of dishes. Currently, there weren't many arrancar there; most Espada had eaten in their palaces, and the numeros had eaten earlier. '

Both of them could feel a huge spiritual pressure coming from the opposite entrance, and walking through it, was one of the Espada.

He was a man, about 5' 6" with long, unruly white hair he kept out of his face. He had crimson eyes, and cruel, but good looking features. His Espada uniform was a white floor length coat, worn open to reveal he had, like most male arrancar, well defined muscles. Unlike most arrancar, he wore it just around his shoulders without his arms through the sleeves with no shirt beneath. A large, gothic 8 was tattooed on his stomach. He wore plain hakama pants, with a red sash around his waist. His mask fragment was an eight pronged bony protrusion around his right wrist, and his hollow hole was a small opening in his neck.

The most remarkable thing about him, however, was his zanpakuto. It was a massive broadsword, at least as wide as his body, and over six feet in length. Its hilt was wider than his shoulders, and each tip was a scarlet spike. The main body of the blade was black, but it had a thicker red edge along the entire blade. The handle was covered in red wrapping.

He walked into the room groggily, and reached the center booth with a wide yawn. The numeros working in the kitchen looked at him with obvious trepidation, and the man seemed oblivious to their fear off him as he lazily leaned against the counter. He grumbled out his order, and they scattered frantically to fulfill it. Kodoku found it almost comical as two of them nearly wet themselves when the Espada asked they add some coffee to his order.

Kodoku and Nel walked up to a female numero who didn't look too busy.

"Yo," Kodoku said, looking around nonchalantly, "Can we get some food?"

The numero looked at Kodoku for a minute, perhaps gauging how fast he could kill her if she messed up his order. Kodoku didn't think he'd look that scary. Aside from his features being obscured, none of his destructive spiritual pressure was detectable, unless you really searched. He should just appear to be a standard arrancar. But despite all this, the female numero's legs began to shake as she tried to speak, but no sound came out.

"Excuse him," Nel said, placing her hand on Kodoku's arm and flashing a warm smile to the numero, "I know he looks scary, but he wouldn't hurt a fly. We'd like to have a large cheese omelet with bacon and peppers, kay'?"

The female numero looked at Nel with admiration then nodded and scurried off to prepare the order. Kodoku looked at Nel strangely. Kind? Amazing? Good fits, but once again, Kodoku didn't think they were quite right.

"How did you do that?" he asked, his single visible eye being shadowed slightly by his stooping brow.

"Just had to let her know she didn't have to be afraid," she said, shrugging, "Let's grab a seat, I think they'll bring it over."

"Well if nothing else, you're good at making friends." Kodoku said, turning his attention to the matter of seating.

Kodoku looked around, and saw that the Octava had gotten his seat at the table in the far right of the room. He grabbed Nel's hand and led her over to a seat next to the albino Espada. When they reached him, Kodoku noticed his head was down and he was asleep. The two Espada sat down beside their comrade, Kodoku closest to him and Nel beside Kodoku.

They sat there without saying a word, and Kodoku tilted his chair back as they waited for their food. The Octava was now snoring lightly. Kodoku was tempted to go to sleep himself, but as he was about to do so, his nose detected a delicious smell, one that was getting steadily closer. He let his chair back down on all four legs and saw a procession of numeros. In their hands were platters of...barbeque wings.

Kodoku frowned, as the Octava shot straight up when his multitude of plates, all stacked high with the spicy barbecue chicken were set down in front of him. The man grinned, and began to stuff wing after wing, bone and all, into his mouth, not even noticing when his cup of coffee was set down to his right. Nel, too, was looking at the turn of events with curiosity. She leaned in on Kodoku to whisper in his ear.

"You say I eat a lot?"

Kodoku rolled his eyes in response.

"Who're you two?"

Kodoku looked over at the source of the voice, the Octava. His face was covered in barbecue sauce.

"I'm Kodoku," said arrancar stated simply.

"My name's Neliel," Nel said, giggling at the state of the Octava's face.

"You her fraccion?" the Octava asked, looking to Kodoku. Maybe the only downside of trying to look like a normal arrancar; until the formal Espada meeting, or he revealed his tattoo, others would underestimate him.

"Quite the opposite," Kodoku said, locking his singular blue gaze onto the Octava, "Yo soy el Primero Espada."

Despite the temporary lapse into Spanish, the Octava had no trouble understanding him. It seemed as though all arrancar had a sort of innate knowledge of the Spanish language. In fact, Kodoku had read a number of novels in Spanish without any difficulty.

"Hmm, the top Espada?" whispered the Octava, a grin beginning to form on his face, "Then I, Accalar Colera, Octava Espada, challenge you!"

He said the last part with a roar, and jumped to his feet. Kodoku sighed, and turned his electric blue eye to look at the Octava, Accalar Colera lazily.

"No," Kodoku said, and then closed his eyes, signaling the finality of his objection.

Accalar eyes narrowed, and he drew his enormous blade, and swung it at Kodoku. The crimson edged sword parted the air with surprising speed, given its size. To Accalar's surprise, the Primera didn't move until the last second, and even then he only raised the back his hand to block the heavy sword. The blade met Kodoku's hand with a loud clang, the sword's momentum completely stopped. Kodoku glared at Accalar with his one eye.

"I said no," he growled, then rolled his wrist, knocking back Accalar's zanpakuto, "Maybe another time, Colera."

Accalar wiped the look of shock from his face, and grinned, unleashing some of his spiritual pressure, which, while it didn't so much as make Kodoku blink, slammed a few numeros in the immediate vicinity to the ground. The albino arrancar reattached his blade to his back, then slammed his hands down on the table in front of Kodoku. His strength caused cracks to shoot out.

"I'll hold you to it, Kodoku," he said, then used sonido to make his exit.

Kodoku sighed and shook his head, then turned to find Nel looking at him. Her hazel eyes once again ahd that mischevious sparkle.

"If nothing else, you're good at making friends," Nel said, mimicking Kodoku with amusement, as she grinned at him.

Kodoku simply rolled his eye and shrugged.

In a few minutes, Kodoku and Nel's food arrived. It was brought by the same female numero who Nel had befriended. She regarded Kodoku warily, but still managed a tentative smile at the two Espada. Their dish was a humble omelet, with a side of fruit. Kodoku instantly snagged the fruit bowl, much to Nel's dismay.

"I thought we came here for me," she pouted, and tried snatch the fruit cup back from Kodoku, who simply moved it out of her reach.

"Sorry, but I love this stuff," Kodoku said popping a chunk of juicy pineapple into his mouth.

Nel pouted for a second, but her mood lifted upon taking in a fork full of her omelet. Food in Las Noches was imported from shops in the human world, and Aizen was trying to make a large scale garden in the massive fortress to grow fruits and vegetables. Any arrancar who still wished to dine on other hollows would have to venture outside Las Noches. Nel had finished her omelet, save for a small corner, and Kodoku had only a particularly large piece of honey dew left in the corner of his bowl. As if drawn by their mutual thoughts they looked at each other. Sighing, Kodoku offered her the melon. Nel smiled graciously and ate the appetizing looking fruit in one bite.

She then popped the last piece of omelet into her mouth.

Kodoku's eyes widened and he looked at her incredulously. Nel simply offered a sweet smile in return. Shaking his head, Kodoku found himself slowly smiling as well. Now he could see the word in his mind, slowly coming into focus. Precious.

_Preciosa._

* * *

><p>Las Noches: Espada Meeting Hall<p>

* * *

><p>The table was quiet. Gathered around one 15 by 5 foot table were the most powerful arrancar currently in existence. The sheer force of their combined presence prevented any numeros from going anywhere near the Meeting Hall. The room was dimly lit, and some candles at the table were the closest source of light.<p>

Their flames were quivering.

Each of the Espada was determined not to look at one another, but whenever two happened to catch each other's eye, each would release their spiritual pressure, trying to overcome the other. Kodoku sat near the head of the table, next to the three seats at the head. Across from him was the arrancar of the South Tower, the same one who'd incinerated a group of numeros with her mere spiritual pressure.

She was a woman of below average height, with long black hair done up in a ponytail. Her bangs were white, and fell into her face. She was wearing an arrancar jack with overly long sleeves open, her bust covered by black wrapping, leaving the olive colored skin of her midriff uncovered. Her legs were covered by a simple pair of mid-thigh shorts and black boots that reached her knees. Her eyes, though partially covered by her white bangs, were a deep, midnight blue that looked black at a glance, but as one looked closer, one could see the faint tinges of dark blue. Her mask fragment was a pair of curved horns coming from just above her forehead. Her thin lips were set in an unhappy line, and her eyes were hard and emotionless. Kodoku couldn't see her zanpakuto, but he could sense two cataracts of power along her arms.

Kodoku also saw some familiar faces. Sitting sitting two seats away from the opposite end of the table on the right, was a shinigamified panther hollow, Grimmjow Jaggerjack. Sitting next to the arrancar of the South Tower was Tia Halibel. She seemed slightly on edge, her sea green eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Sitting at the end of the table was an extremely tall, massive man with long black kept slicked back that reached the center of his back and dark green eyes. He wore his Espada jacket open, and leaning on the table next to him was his zanpakuto, a long handled axe with two large triangular blades.

Across from the giant man was a woman with long brown hair and orange eyes. She wore a white dress, and had a long sleeve top with a dipping neckline that revealed her generous breasts. Her zanpakuto was a standard katana and was strapped to her waist. Kodoku couldn't even begin to get an idea of what she was thinking. She seemed to not think or feel anything. It set Kodoku a bit on edge.

Next to her was the Octava, Accalar Colera, who'd simply gone to sleep in his seat waiting for Aizen.

Sitting two seats down from Kodoku was Ulquiorra Schiffer. Kodoku had encountered the stoic looking arrancar multiple times in the library, but the latter hadn't said a word to him.

Sitting to the right of Tia was a man with medium length blonde hair and bright yellow eyes. His hands were clad in black and gold gauntlets, which served as his zanpakuto. He wore a sleeveless vest open, and his mask fragment was a bony plate on his cheek which extended out into a broken tusk. He didn't look on edge like the other arrancar, but seemed to be slightly restless.

Nel sat to Kodoku's left, looking pensively around. She seemed to be consumed by her thoughts. Kodoku reached out and brushed his hand against hers under the table. She looked up at him with surprise, then her eyes softened conveying silent thanks to Kodoku.

"Good afternoon, my comrades," came a smooth voice from just outside the door.

Calmly following the voice came the figures of Gin Ichimaru, Kaname Tosen and finally Sosuke Aizen. The three defected shinigami captains were now wearing clothes similar to the arrancar's, signifying their affinity to Hueco Mundo rather than the Soul Society. They sat at the three seats at the head of the table, Aizen in the center, and the other two to either side. Gin Ichimaru sat on the side closest to Kodoku.

"Settlin' in well Kodi-chan?" Gin asked, his pantomime grin annoying Kodoku, but not to the point that he'd dignify his question with an answer.

"Gin," Aizen said, smiling his signature confident smile, "If Kodoku attacks you I'm afraid I probably won't be able to save you."

The Espada now turned their attention to Aizen, who smiled and raised his arms.

"Comrades, welcome," he began taking the time to look at each one of the arrancar present, "to the end of the world as we know it. In a short time, we will set about out conquest of the Soul Society, and you'll be able to receive the desires of your hearts. But for now, we must focus upon ourselves. I'm sure this is the first time some of you have met. So I ask you, please introduce yourselves, state your rank and, what drives you, your Aspect of Death."

There was silence among the Espada, and no one was willing to speak.

"Why don' we go in rankin' order?" Gin asked, his grin growing slightly, "10 to 1. Ya'll got yer ink. Ya'll know what you are."

They seemed to grow agitated at Gin's suggestion, but agreed with it nonetheless.

"I'm Madera Marchitez," the gargantuan arrancar grumbled pulling back his jacket to reveal the gothic 10 tattooed onto his left pectoral, "I'm the Decima Espada. My aspect of death is Decay."

"I am Dejara Floja, the Novena Espada," the woman across from him said, her voice plain and emotionless and turned her head and swept her hair back, showing a 9 on the side of her neck, "My aspect of death is Apathy."

The next Espada in line, Accalar Colera was asleep, and the Madera Marchitez reached across the table and flicked him. The startled arrancar stood up quickly, his chair hitting the ground with a loud crash. A flash of red light came from his palm, and it coalesced to form a cero.

"What the fucking hell?" he shouted, his eyes darting around as his spiritual pressure increased with his distress.

"Calm yourself, Colera," Kodoku said, rolling his visible eye, "Introduce yourself."

"Ah," Accalar said nodding at Kodoku and gesturing to the 8 on his stomach, "Name's Accalar Colera, Octava Espada, my aspect of death is Hatred."

With that he picked up his chair and sat down, oblivious to the stares of amazement from the other Espada.

"Grimmjow Jaggerjack," said the blue haired feline, reclining his chair and propping his feet up on the table not bothering to show his ink, "Septima Espada, and my aspect of death is Destruction."

Kaname's brow furrowed, and his sightless eyes seemed to glare at Grimmjow.

"My name is Gruesa Venganza," the blonde arrancar with yellow eyes and gauntlets for his zanpakuto stated proudly, turning his left arm to display the 6 tattooed onto his bicep, "I'm the Sexta Espada, my aspect of death is Vengeance."

"I am Ulquiorra Schiffer," the green eyed arrancar said a look of solemness plastered onto his face, "I am the Quinto Espada, and my aspect of death is Emptiness."

He didn't opt to show his tattoo.

"My name is Neliel tu Oderschvank," Nel said, glancing at Kodoku, and sharing a secretive smile as she turned to reveal the 4 on her shoulder, "I am the Cuarto Espada, and my aspect of death is Compassion."

"I am Tia Halibel, Tercera Espada, Sacrifice," Tia said tersely, like Grimmjow, not showing her ink.

"I am Caliga Dalcare," the arrancar of the South Tower said, standing up and showing the 2 on the the palm of her right hand, "I am the Segunda Espada, and my aspect of death is Conflict."

She sat back down quietly, but her countenance dared anyone to say something. No one did. Now everyone's attention focused on Kodoku, knowing what his rank was without him having to say it. Kodoku let out a short sigh. Slowly, he undid the seal on his arm, and held up his arm, causing everyone, Aizen included, to gasp at the weight of his unrestrained presence. The candles flames now shook wildly, on the verge of going out.

"My name is Kodoku Takahashi, Primera Espada. My aspect of death is Fear."

* * *

><p>Sealed Dimension<p>

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><p>Head Captain Genryusai Yamamoto was not one to make decisions lightly. Especially decisions that may have long term repercussions for the Soul Society. His Soul Society, his home he'd sworn to protect from anything that would harm it. He'd deliberated on this decision for quite a long time, ever since the first appearance of that silver Vast Lorde, who'd laid waste to Seireitei. And now it seemed it had sided with Aizen. The Head Captain wasn't an optimist either. If Aizen and that Vasto Lorde fought together, even he would be hard pressed to win against their combination of raw power and cunning. It was for this reason he'd come to this decision.<p>

He'd decided to break the seal.

He was walking down a long plain hallway. Torches of purple flame lit the way. There were no windows, but even if there were they wouldn't be of any use; this building was in a separate dimension from the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and the human world. It was inaccessible from anywhere, unless one had the dimensional key. It wasn't to keep people out.

It was to keep him in.

The Head Captain reached a large set of double doors, and hesitated. It wasn't too late to turn back, and try to beat them with his current forces. The Captain Commander opened his eyes and pushed the door open. This was their only chance. He was their only chance. A man, whose zanpakuto had a potential power so great, both had to have sealed away. Now, the Head Captain needed that power. After locking him away a millennia ago, he needed his power.

Inside, was a dazzlingly bright room. It was covered from wall to wall by paintings. They flowed seamlessly from one to the other, the work of a true genius. It depicted monsters rising up of a churning sea of blackness, then flowed gradually into more peaceful images. It showed the formation of the Soul Society, then on the other end, at the same age, it showed massive buildings being torn down, and great cities being toppled to give way to a never ending desert. The formation of Hueco Mundo. Gradually, the beasts on the opposite side turned into men and women, and in Hueco Mundo the men and women began to wear masks. Soon their bodies now all had holes in them, signifying their loss of humanity. It continued like this for a while, but towards the more recent images, some hollows began shedding their masks, and in one image a shinigami picked up one of these discarded masks and put it on.

Near the end, a massive storm was gathering, and its eye was a warrior. He wielded two massive weapons with elongated handles. His chest was bare, and he wore a pair of black hakama pants, with a cape like cloth that clung to his waist. A ways away from him was another warrior, outfitted all in black and wielding a large scythe. Darkness flowed around this warrior, taking the form of rearing massive beasts in one area, and jaggedly formed cities in another. Between them was a blank space. Kneeling down in front of this blank space was the artist.

He was a fit looking man, with long, wild looking black hair. He was dressed in a standard grey robe, tattered and stained with age. As his body expanded and contracted with his regular breathing, the clanking of chains could be heard. He held a brush with no paint in his hand. Strangely, no paint could be found anywhere in the room. He seemed to be deliberating on how to finish his painting, and had been doing it for quite a long time; the most recent sections of the painting seemed to be centuries old. He stood when the Captain Commander entered. The Head Captain slammed his cane down.

"Your time has come, Ningen," he said his eyes open to regard the man.

He turned his head, revealing his the pale bandages that were wrapped around his head to obscure his eyes. The Head Captain grimaced. He thought he could see their purple glow through the bandages. The man licked his lips, and formed soundless words, as if remembering how to speak again. When he was capable he spoke.

"It's been a long time, father."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Remember to review...it gives me the tinglies.

[Edit 6/11/12; added scene with Nel and Kodoku, spacing, formatting]


	6. For Now, We're Alive

**A/N:** I realy hope you like this chapter, because, honestly, I really like it. The chapter is basically a series of short stories about each of the Espada and others in Hueco Mundo, and their interactions with each other in the 3 month skip between last chapter and the one after this one. Each one of them has its own seperate title and features at least two characters, they're not in any order...anyhow, after reading, out of curiosity, should I do this again?

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><p><strong><em>Chapter 6<em>**

_For Now, We're Alive_

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><p><strong>Anatomy<strong>

_(Dedicated to anyone who has read, but not reviewed, for 499 hits, I'm thankful)_

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><p>The library of Las Noches was truly an impressive complex. It was the size of a football stadium, with walls stretching hundreds of feet into the air. Crisscrossing throughout the extensive floor space were towering shelves, filled tightly with books. It was divided into sections. Near the center, there was a clearing of sorts, in which there were a series of white, plush couches where one could sit and read. They formed a circle around a large fire, contained by invisible walls of energy. Kodoku thought it was quite dangerous. After all, if the fire ever escaped, all these books could go up in flames, without the aid of kerosene.<p>

He was sitting on one of the seven white couches, his legs drawn up and crossed while he leaned back and held up a book. It wasn't a very thick book and it was filled with as many diagrams as words. _Philosophy of Spiritual Motion_ was written in blocky gold letters on the book's black leather cover. He read each word, page by page, often stopping to ponder a question the work had presented, or sparked in his mind. A large stack of books lay on the table in front of him. As was usual, he was with Nel.

The green haired arrancar was lounging on the same couch, leaning back against Kodoku with her legs thrown over the side of the couch. She had been snatching books at random from Kodoku's stack, putting back and picking up according to her interest. In her small hands was a large volume, dedicated entirely, it seemed, to poetry. _Disharmonies of the Mind_ was written in raised blue lettering on the book's bound wooden cover. She flipped through its pages at random, stopping to read anything that caught her attention. One such poem prompted her to show it to her companion.

"Hey Kodoku," Nel whispered, nudging his shoulder with her own.

"Hm?" the Primera responded, holding his place in his book with a finger.

"Take a look at this," she said, pointing to a short poem in the center of the page. Kodoku shifted his position to read the passage over Nel's shoulder.

_My heart delights in destruction._

_Of that, I must warn you._

_My heart robs me of my sense._

_Of that, you must warn me_

_My heart has known love._

_For that, I will not apologize_

_My heart no longer beats._

_Of that, you must cure me._

Nel clasped the book to her chest and relaxed into Kodoku once she sensed he was finished reading. The silver haired arrancar felt a blush make its faint appearance on his pale cheeks. He made a comfortable back rest.

"Don't you just love it?" she said airily, closing her eyes contently as her cheeks too gained a slight tint of red.

"How can this person's heart do so much?" Kodoku said, frowning, "A heart is simply an aspect of human anatomy. Spiritual beings are beyond the need of a physical heart, much less hollows."

As he finished speaking, he pointed to the hole in his own chest as proof. Nel sat up and away from him, shifting so that she was sitting cross legged across from Kodoku. She frowned back at him.

"Of course we have hearts, Kodoku," she said, sounding as if nothing could convince her otherwise. He continued to frown at her, his blue eyes boring into her hazel ones, trying to find a hint of doubt. He found none.

Kodoku found he couldn't look at her anymore, and felt a strange anger and bitterness towards the poem. No, it wasn't towards the poem; it was towards a heart.

"It's ridiculous," he said lowly, coldly, "None of us have hearts Nel."

Kodoku didn't know why he'd said it. He didn't even know if he truly believed it. He still found he couldn't look at Nel. Maybe he dreaded what he'd find in her eyes. However Nel surprised him. Inwardly, the part of Kodoku that wasn't affected by the passage of time laughed; that part of him seemed to find it amusing that from the moment he'd met her, Nel had always surprised him.

She climbed nimbly into his lap, her hanging long legs off to the side. She rested her head against Kodoku's chest. With a slim finger, she traced a small pattern just to the left of his hollow hole.

"You do have a heart," she whispered, her finger stopping its motion, and remaining stationary on Kodoku's chest, "I can feel it."

She swept her hair back and pressed her ear to the same spot, "I can hear it."

"I know it."

Nel's eyes widened as Kodoku crushed her form flush against his. She reveled briefly in how perfectly she fit against him and how she'd never noticed it before, but felt a drop of moisture on her head. She returned Kodoku's embrace, her arms wrapping around his midsection. She felt him take a deep shuddering breath, the vibrations of his body traveling nearly uninhibited into hers. Likewise when Kodoku next spoke, she felt it more than she heard it.

"One would think you'd be tired of it by now."

"Tired of what?" she asked into his chest, not doubting he'd heard her.

"Being right."

* * *

><p><strong>Of Hollows and Men<strong>

* * *

><p>"Ah! Pass that shit back over here!"<p>

"You've had too much, Jaggerjack."

"Shut the fuck up Sodoku!"

"Ko-do-ku you drunk son of a bitch."

"You dealin' with some intelligent creatures, I 'on't touch guns, I draw wit telekin-"

_Smack!_

"Fuck off Gruesa, it's mine."

"Ladies please! Let the Queen show you how it's done!"

"You too, Caliga?"

Kodoku shook his head. He'd have along chat with Aizen about offering the Espada the privilige of alchoholic beverages. Kodoku, Nel, Caliga, Grimmjow, Tia, Accalar and Gruesa had all gathered in the living room of Kodoku's palace to examine something they were all unfamiliar with.

Vodka.

Grimmjow had been eager to claim the first bottle as his own. Kodoku, being knowledgeable about nearly everything, knew in theory how alcohol affected the system. So, with amusement from Kodoku and rapture from everyone else, they watched as Grimmjow downed the entire bottle. Jaggerjack's reaction of a ruddy cheeks, a lack of sense and slurred speech prompted Gruesa to take the next bottle. Halfway through the bottle, he began rapping the entire Slaughterhouse EP. With trepidation, Caliga took the rest of the bottle. It took her two more bottles to send her into a world in which she was the queen of drinking. Accalar was out like a light after his first cup. His twitching form was currently laying on the ground. Kodoku hadn't touched any, but Nel, ever adventurous, had downed a bottle and a half and only had rosy cheeks to show for it. Kodoku concluded an arrancar's body had a much higher alcohol tolerance than a human's.

"Show some decorum," Kodoku growled, "We're Espada, and Ai-"

Grimmjow slapped his hands against the table, sending the remaining bottles to their sides.

"To hell with Aizen!" he roared, his enthusiasm probably brought about by the alcohol in his system, "I don't give a fuck about this refined shit his royal bitch ass is givin' us. Aizen thinks he can turn us into fuckin' gentlemen? That's the stupidest shit I've ever heard. We're all still hollows, we still got holes in us."

Kodoku's eyes widened. He felt Nel tense at his side. The other arrancar at the table, save Accalar, seemed to see through their drunken stupor to recognize his words.

They all agreed with his sentiment; deep down, they were all still hollows.

* * *

><p><strong>Filling the Void<strong>

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><p>"You want to join us for dinner, Ulquiorra? It'll be at Kodoku's palace, so he'll do all the cooking," a hopeful Nel asked a not so willing Ulquiorra Schiffer.<p>

He didn't understand what they got out of each other's presence. All the Espada always gathered in the Primera's palace once every month to have a large dinner. Ulquiorra had searched for meaning all his afterlife, and didn't understand how they could be so light and carefree, unless they'd found their meaning. Somehow, he thought, they'd all managed to fill their voids. Somehow, it had to do with their seeking out each other. He'd asked all the Espada why they sought out each other's presence and each had given him a different answer.

_"Because it's in our nature to seek out company," Kodoku had said, "It was an instinct that was originally meant to help us survive."_

_"The more we fight and argue, the more it leaves us broken. Having others doesn't make it seem so bad," Caliga had said._

_"Because we're friends. When one is happy, we're all happy with them, when one is sad, we're all sad," was the answer from Nel._

_"Friends bear the weight with you, and you share your weight with them. They make any punishment or burden lighter," Gruesa had said._

_"A King is nothing without his subjects," Grimmjow had said._

_"Food tastes so much better with friends," Accalar had said, through, predictably, a mouthful of food._

_The Novena had not been able to come up with an answer._

_"Because, when proud warriors gather on equal terms, to make merry and feast, they put aside their differences and something indescribable is in the air!" Madera responded to Ulquiorra's inquire._

Lost In his thoughts, Ulquiorra had yet to give Nel an answer. She looked slightly disappointed, and turned to leave.

"Neliel."

She turned to him, a single eyebrow raised.

"I will be joining you all for dinner. Make sure to serve cream of mushroom soup."

* * *

><p><strong>Promises<strong>

* * *

><p>Tia was never one for tedious tasks. Even though she prided herself for her patience, the mundane and pointless still managed to irk her. It was for that reason she'd turned up blonde brow at sorting paper work for Aizen. Not that the task in and of itself was terribly annoying.<p>

She was working with _him_.

"Yo, Tia, toss me the folder on," came the harsh voice of Grimmjow Jaggerjack and a pause as he looked for the heading on the stack of papers he was holding, "the -ah fuck- Numero Personal Data."

"If I tossed it to you, the files would come out," Tia said blankly, opting to walk over and hand the now irked feline the folder instead.

Grimmjow tched as he snatched the folder and with muscularly precise movements he flicked it open, movements that immediately drew Tia's attention to the flexing muscles in his forearm. She caught herself as he plopped the papers into the folder.

She'd noticed, ever since she'd become an arrancar, the damned Septima had caught her eye. Sometimes it was the bored look in his cerulean eyes, others the relaxed nature of his walk. It was the way his jaw moved when he tried to suppress his rage. It was that cute expression on his face when he yawned. It was how the tendons in his hands moved when he gripped his zanpakuto. It was _him_, and Tia hated it.

The two were in a large room, with blank walls. Neither was quite sure what the floor looked like; it was, as it had been when they'd arrived, covered in papers. Not even their 4 hours of work put the floor within sight. Stacks of folders, each filled to the brim with papers were stacked in piles that almost reached above the two arrancar's heads.

"Mind if I put on some music?" Grimmjow asked, his attention devoted to sorting through files on Zanpakuto by Name.

Tia shrugged, and continued on her search for the last article in the Las Noches Architectural Data file folder. The blue haired man nodded faintly.

"Las Noches," he called out, "Play the Playlist, Pantera, in my current room."

A panel in the ceiling slid aside to reveal a large speaker.

"Yes, Master Jaggerjack," an emotionless, smooth female voice came seemingly from the walls.

Then, harsh vocals and heavy guitar cords, mixed seamlessly with trance electronic beats began to blare from the speaker. Grimmjow bobbed his head to the beat, a new enthusiasm towards his work taking hold. Tia raised her head in interest.

"What is this?" she asked the Septima, as he placed one more folder on a massive stack.

"A cover of the song Alejandro, originally by Lady Gaga, by a Russian metal-core quintet, Helia." Grimmjow said, while tapping his foot to the slowed beat of the chorus.

"Russian?"

"Yeah, Russia, it's a land in the human world."

Tia paused what she was doing and folded her arms underneath her chest.

"I never knew you were so knowledgeable about human music."

"Well I am," Grimmjow growled, sounding slightly exasperated.

Tia continued to look at him incredulously, her sea green eyes still harboring some disbelief.

"What?" Grimmjow exclaimed, slamming down the folder he was holding, "Humans may be fucking weak as hell, but their civilization's music is more than our spiritual asses ever would've ever come up with."

Tia chuckled at his need to slip in profanity, but a small curiosity was born from her amusement.

"Why do you like music? It's not as if you had it a couple months prior."

As soon as the question made it past her lips, the song ended a new one began. To Tia surprise it wasn't pounding her ears with electronic bass and brutal riffs. Instead, the slow, warm sound of an acoustic guitar flowed tranquilly from the speaker.

_On a summer night, as you pull me closer..._

"What is this?" Tia asked, the sounds strangely appealing to her ears.

"Promises, by Outline in Color," Grimmjow said standing, and making his way over to Tia. Once again, to Tia's surprise, Grimmjow gripped her hand in his and wrapped an arm round her waist. A cocky half grin was plastered on his face.

_Baby, please, don't cry. Isn't this what you'd hope for?_

"May I have this dance?" he cooed, their bodies pressed together. Tia hoped sincerely he couldn't see the heat that was rising to her face.

_Don't tell me that it's better off this way_

Tia hesitated. After a log minute of the song washing over them, she placed her other hand on his shoulder. Grimmjow's grin grew a touch. With ease, he began to spin them in slow, lazy circles. They paid the papers no mind.

_And she whispers in my ear..._

The song began to speed up. Tia watched in horror as Grimmjow's grin turned into a full blown smile.

_Promise me when you're not here..._

Their dancing began to pick up speed. Tia was now a puppet in Grimmjow's hands as he guided her around the room at an ever quickening pace.

_Promise to never let me go_

As the double bass pedal blasted in, and exitedly fast riffs cut up the slow pace, Grimmjow amd Tia careened around the room, sending papers flying everywhere.

_And you started to say..._

Tia was in turmoil. Half of her wanted to push Grimmjow away, half of her wanted to melt into the Septima's arms.

_The words you run to so quickly..._

After a particularly powerful spin, she decided to strike a happy medium; she'd simply dance with him and wouldn't completely give in to his touch. As the song's outro began, Grimmjow brought both of their heavily breathing bodies to a near pause.

_Baby, please, don't cry..._

"You asked me why I like music." Grimmjow said, and Tia was still painfully conscious of how much they were touching.

"How can you not?"

Tia nodded faintly, their swaying now a barely voluntary movement. What he said made a strange sort of sense. The rhythm, moving, her heartbeat, his heartbeat and the singer's voice all mixed together in a surreal crescendo, one that intoxicated Tia. Maybe she'd have to look for some music in the library.

"Ah, yes and Tia,"

"Yes?"

"We kind of fucked up the filing."

_Isn't this what you'd hope for?_

* * *

><p><strong>Open Your Eyes and Look North<strong>

_(Dedicated to Suisho x Hirako Shinji, glad you took your time to honor my request. I'm sorry I couldn't follow all your advice to the letter.)_

* * *

><p>Kodoku strode down the hallways of Las Noches, making his way at a relaxed pace to the Espada meeting. The meeting would regard fracciones. The hooded arrancar didn't particularly want one, but Accalar had already selected his. He was glad. It meant there'd be something to distract the compulsive albino.<p>

For the first time in quite a while, Nel wasn't at his side. He always found this worried him, but never stopped to dwell on why.

"I'm thinkin' we're late, Kodi-chan," came the sly voice of his new, temporary companion. Kodoku turned his head to give Gin Ichimaru a single eyed glare.

"Don't call me that." Kodoku said, without missing a step.

"Now, now, Kodoku,' Gin said lowly, his tone actually conveying a deadly calm and solemnity. His fox grin shrunk and his sky blue eyes opened to look at Kodoku, "Lord Aizen might be peeved at ya fir bein' late."

Kodoku stopped dead in his tracks, the gears working in his mind a mile an instant. A test. No, a question. For Aizen? No, by the way Gin said his name. Where did Gin's loyalties lie? More importantly, where did his own?

"Your point?" Kodoku responded, after a second. Gin's eyes closed and his fox-like grin returned full force.

"Good t'know, Kodi-chan."

* * *

><p><strong>Cold<strong>

* * *

><p>He truly detested her. She had been appointed the position of doctor for Las Noches. It wasn't fitting; a doctor needed compassion, patience and at the least, the tidings of the smallest amounts of empathy. She had none of those.<p>

"I hate you," Gruesa Venganza growled, as she bandaged up his arm.

"That's irrelevant." Dejara Floja stated. Her voice was simple and without worry. In fact it was without any emotion.

"Would you know?" he said, his voice still laced with animosity. She thought it was unjustified. But she couldn't bring herself to care about it, or anything.

"Because, your feelings towards me have nothing to do with your injuries from sparring with Grimmjow." she responded, her voice cool, logical but lacking what would make it beautiful.

Her unknowingly slipped in innuendo made him scowl.

Her entirety was just like that; there was something almost beautiful about her, but something equally terrible that turned one away. He would easily admit she was attractive; her thin, toned stomach, her wide hips, her generous proportions, her flawless face and all made for a stunning combination. It was her eyes that always ruined the image; their orange depths didn't glow with anything comparable to fire. His armored hand clenched at his side.

They were cold.

He hated her for it. He hated her for not being able to feel anything. He hated how it hurt him to watch her live. He hated that he pitied her. Her iced fingers brushed his arm as she tied the wrapping. He looked up at her briefly, his keen yellow eyes straining into her orange, fuel less furnaces.

He hated how he wanted to warm her.

* * *

><p><strong>Silence<strong>

_(Dedicated to Moonlight Phoenix, first review, first OC submitted, first favorite. Thanks for sticking with this story)_

* * *

><p>Silence was thick and thin. It could be laced with emotion, or riddled with animosity. Silence could spell disaster, it could bring salvation. It was the music that all appreciated.<p>

Caliga Dalcare loved silence. She loved how versatile it was. She loved how well it represented any given thing. She loved how everyone's silence was different.

The Primera's silence was loud with his thoughts, and practically vibrating with his power. When he walked through Las Noches, he never said a word, and it only seemed to make his silence that much louder.

The Cuarto's silence was constantly in motion, swirling about her joyously, but underneath it was a stagnant, solemn silence.

The Tercera's silence was flowing rhythmically, and almost corporeal, like water.

The Quinto's silence was cold, and around him Caliga shivered.

The Sexta's silence was hard, never accommodating the pointless, and rare; the blonde man always seemed to have something to say.

The Septima's silence was surprisingly placid. That is, when he wasn't agitated. Then it was volatile and erratic.

The Octava's silence was empty and devoid of anything.

The Novena's silence wasn't anything special, but there was a dark silence about him, just barely perceptible, that scared Caliga.

The Decima's silence was by far Caliga's favorite. It was plain, and didn't ask for anything from anyone.

She felt completely at ease leaning against the wall of Madera's palace. It was an enormous, furniture less room. The massive arrancar was leaning against the wall on the opposite wall, at least a hundred feet away from her, not saying anything.

Simply enjoying her silence.

* * *

><p><strong>Saving Grace<strong>

* * *

><p>Accalar Colera was not considered an angry person by most. In fact, someone would be more likely to call him 'lazy', 'pig', 'oblivious' or some combination of the three (i.e. 'Accalar, you lazy oblivious pig! Don't eat during a meeting!') before they called him a hating person. So it was a matter of confusion among the Espada, why his aspect of death is Hatred. Not taking into account his lust for battle of course as it was normal for all arrancar to feel the need for battle on an instinctual level.<p>

_In my eyes..._

Said Espada was currently walking through Las Noches, making his way lazily to his palace. He had finished eating for the day, and with nothing else pressing, he was considering renting a movie from the library and watching it for the rest of the day. Or just sleep. The albino's mouth turned upwards.

"Ah, maybe I will just sleep," he said to himself contently.

The Octava put a single hand in his pockets and continued walking down the white hallway, towards the comfort of his bed. He looked with interest at the stone decorations on the ceiling, wondering how the Hogyoku could've possibly created such eye pleasing columns. He followed their gentle patterns as he walked, forgetting where he was supposed to be going as his focus was devoted entirely to the stone structures.

"Yeah, what're you gonna about it, bitch?"

Accalar stopped, the harsh female voice tearing him away from the ceiling details. He didn't know how he'd gotten to the Numeros Wing. Before him were 5 female numeros, 4 standing above the cowering fifth. They had backed her up against a wall, and Accalar counted three bruises on her arms alone. Her petite form was battered, but her beautiful caramel eyes still shone with defiance. Her long, wavy dark brown hair was coming out of its braid and had discernible bloodstains in it. Her clothes were in tatters, and many cuts, both deep and shallow, could be seen. Her face had a few scattered freckles, and had twin tracks of tear stains. The leader's zanpakuto was drawn, and her sword had a line of the small woman's blood running down its length. Accalar's eyes widened and a trickle of red tainted his vision.

"Don't hate me because you weren't selected to be anyone's fracciones," the small woman whispered, her voice broken, but still fighting.

A slap rang out, signifying the lead antagonist's, a tall, busty arrancar's, hand coming into contact with the small woman's cheek.

_...watch the world ignite._

The trickle grew into a flood, and Accalars eyes lit up with scarlet reiatsu. The group of numeros then felt a massive weight upon them. Their heads turned in surprise to see the figure of Accalar, who was slowly walking towards them. They could see his crimson eyes, which shone with his deadly power. But there was something else in them that transcended reiatsu, and washed over the four antagonistic females like lethal radiation. As he reached them, they were silent.

"4 on 1 isn't fair."

The words came and went so fast, the numeros weren't quite sure they'd heard them. In fact, so close to the Espada, they could hardly think straight. The leader of the antagonists looked surprised at first then a sneer turned her lips upwards.

"I know you're an Espada, but you're not such hot stuff you can just barge in o-"

She didn't finish. None of the numeros had seen Accalar move, they simply the saw the end result; Malevolencia, the Octava's gigantic zanpakuto, was buried in her body, a shoulder to hip cut that nearly split her in two. She gurgled blood, and Accalar ripped his sword out of her body, causing a rain of blood to drip off the blade. Before any of the droplets of crimson life hit the ground, he had the second antagonist by the neck. He slammed her into the wall, and swung his massive blade. It dug into the wall as it cut her clean in half. He tossed her limp torso to the ground, and glanced at the last of the antagonistic numeros, who was running down the hallway. She tripped and stumbled, driven mad with fear.

He extended his right hand toward her retreating figure. 8 small orbs of power formed at the tip of each of the spikes of his mask fragment, and as he arched his fingers, they swirled into a cero above his palm. Blood colored eyes, devoid of mercy, locked onto their target.

"Octo Cero (8 cero)," Accalar whispered, and a flood of red light shot out of his hand.

The surprisingly wide cero consumed the entire hallway, and vaporized the final numero. Accalar took a single deep breath, and stabilized his spiritual pressure. The rage he'd felt seconds prior was gone. He didn't particularly care for defeating such weak opponents. But none should have to suffer for the whim of someone else. Accalar hated suffering.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the small woman was looking at him. As he turned to her, he saw fear flash through her eyes. He walked over to her, pulling off his coat. He extended a hand and helped her to her feet, then threw his coat around her shoulders. The large garment nearly swallowed her. Accalar looked at her for a long minute, and she gazed back at him, showing him the same defiance she'd shone to those three late numeros.

"Name?" Accalar asked, breaking their staring contest.

"Gracelza Pureza," the small woman said, drawing her small form up to its full height, contrasted by Accalar's large coat, which had its ends pooled on the ground.

Accalar nodded; somehow he was glad she wasn't afraid of him.

"Thank you, Master Accalar."

"Master?"

"You are an Espada, are you not? Every numero is supposed to call the Esapda 'Master'."

"Don't call me Master. I'm not the master of anything, or anyone," Accalar said simply, then added after a thoughtful pause, "Everyone is their own master, I think."

Gracelza looked at him with confusion. This man was truly an interesting character.

"C'mon, Grace," the albino said gesturing for her to follow him, "We're going to get you healed."

She regarded him hesitantly, then after a long minute went to his side. Nodding, Accalar grabbed her hand. With a look of surprise painted on her face, the two vanished with sonido. And since then, the two have been inseparable.

* * *

><p><strong>Blood Fever<strong>

(Dedicated to EVA-Saiyajin, great reviews, I gather you like fights...)

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><p>Kodoku swung Rey de las Tormentas upwards in a massive hip to shoulder strike across his body. The thin translucent blade made a swishing noise as it parted the air in its path. In the following second, the row of 10 training dummies rent themselves in two along a steep diagonal line. Kodoku then whirled around and lashed out with a roundhouse kick that spawned a wave of wind that sent the dummies flying through the air in pieces.<p>

As their tops fell to the ground Kodoku loosed a frustrated cry, and pointed his index finger at the wooden and clay mock opponents. A small orb of blue light pulsated in front of his finger tip, and jagged tails of reiatsu flowed into the orb from the atmosphere, increasing the orb in size.

"Trueno Cero (Thunder Cero)!" he roared, firing a relatively narrow, but potent cero from his finger, the blast releasing a resounding boom.

The stream of power was sufficient enough to obliterate the ten dummies, and keep going, stretching off out of Kodoku's sight. The cero didn't show any signs of letting up, and Kodoku swept his arm in a broad arc, the thunderous cero following the path he dictated. Finally, the cero ran out of energy, and vanished, leaving behind a series of towering explosions where the end of the cero had touched. The wind from the thick curtain of flames washed over Kodoku, who narrowed his eyes against the light and the wind sent his coat flapping behind him.

It wasn't enough.

For a while now, Kodoku had felt restless, like some part of him was constantly unfulfilled. The feeling left him unable to sit still, unable to simply breathe. He longed to exert himself, to feel the blood pound through his body. On an instinctual level, he guessed, all hollows felt this way when they had too much pent up spiritual pressure. And no hollow had more pent up energy than Kodoku. The function was supposed to ensure a hollow's spiritual pressure levels remained healthy. Now with Rey de las Tormentas in his hands, he was barely in control of his primal desires.

He wanted to let loose.

"You mind? I'm trying to work here, and it's pretty damn hard with all those freakin' flames."

Kodoku turned to look at the speaker, who had a soft, but harsh voice. He could only imagine the crazed look in his eyes when his eyes as he regarded the Segunda Espada, Caliga Dalcare. She stood at the opposite him at 20 feet, practicing on another set of dummies. She had shed her jacket, and her small frame was clad only in her mid thigh shorts and black wrapping around her bust. In her hands were her two zanpakuto, one pitch black and one a stark white. Her bangs shadowed her eyes, which were glaring at Kodoku with undisguised animosity. He didn't know how long she'd been standing there, or even if she'd been there the whole time, as he'd been lost in his thoughts of destruction. It was those same thoughts that propelled Kodoku's next choice of action.

"Oh?" the silver haired arrancar asked, cocking his head and stabbing his blade into the ground, "Got a problem?"

Kodoku's normally placid features twisted into a cocky grin, his eye undoubtedly holding uncharacteristic bloodlust. Caliga stabbed her white blade into the ground and placed a hand on her hip.

"I do," she said, her tone venturing to become rather taunting, "If you were paying attention, I just said so."

At this Kodoku's grin grew even more, and he shed his coat and vest, letting them fall to the ground around his feet. Flexing his entire muscular form, he ripped off his reiatsu seal. Instantly, his body was consumed by a massive pillar of icy blue light. As Caliga watched, the beginnings of a tempest began to form around the ceiling of Las Noches in response to his volatile spiritual pressure. He drew his sword from the sand, and the wind around them picked up in speed, as if agitated by the pale blade.

No as if about it, Caliga thought, it's definitely that sword that allows him to manipulate the wind.

She could see the silhouette of his form through the terrible power and dust, and he was hunched over slightly, his fingers arched and a single, almost feral, blue eye shone through the storm of power.

"Wanna do something about it?" Kodoku said, his voice low and almost vibrating from how much spiritual pressure he was exerting.

However instead of shying away from the fight, Caliga shook her hair free of its ponytail, and pointed her black blade at Kodoku. Her eyes flashed, and she produced a column of black energy similar to Kodoku's. Her eyes shone white through her personal reiatsu barrier.

"Of course," she in an animalistic tone also similar to Kodoku's, "I've needed to blow off some steam, and cutting up a punk like you will do just that."

The two squared off against each other, still boasting their enormous towers of spiritual pressure. With twin feral roars, the two lunged at each other. Their blades met, and the earth around them was torn apart. Their spires of power now mingled and clashed as the two exchanged blow after blow, their terrain steadily being cracked, blown away, and then cracked again. They both danced with their blades, the only rhythm accompanying them being their wildly beating, feral hearts. Kodoku, who'd normally realize he wasn't gaining any ground and rethink his approach, continued to hack and slash her defense with Rey de las Tormentas. His fevered brain didn't register that, although his blows were rattling her sword, she was easily keeping up with his pace.

Caliga then lashed out with a leg, and caught Kodoku in his side. She was shocked when pain shot through her foot Kodoku showed of sign of feeling the blow. The battle crazed arrancar tched.

"You'll have to do better," he whispered, and then his form shuddered.

Without moving a muscle, Kodoku caused a terrible wind to burst forth from his body, sending the Segunda flying backwards.

'Damn,' she thought, 'I thought he could only he use the wind with his sword'.

As she was hurtling through the air, Caliga extended her open hand and her white blade pin wheeled into her hand. With both swords crossed, she produced a wave of pure force to combat the wind. She came to a skidding halt and looked at Kodoku. The frenzied arrancar was examining his sword.

"I think I've finally got the hang of this," he said, giving the blade an experimental swing.

The result was an invisible crescent of wind that carved an enormous scar into the earth behind him. In response, Caliga unleashed the full weight of her spiritual pressure, her form glowing with black and white light. Kodoku's mouth stretched into another arrogant grin. The two gods locked eyes and lunged at each other once more.

Their battle had lasted for hours. They had completely destroyed the training arena, along with the entire south wing of Las Noches. If the enormous fortress wasn't able to regenerate itself, Aizen would've been beyond furious.

Not that either arrancar particularly feared Aizen's anger.

Kodoku and Caliga were laying on two stretchers in the Healing Wing, otherwise known as the Novena Espada, Dejara Floja's palace. Kodoku, despite the numerous wounds across his body, was feeling better than he had in a while. Their fight, though deleterious to the whole of Las Noches, had cleared his head, and, more importantly, his reserves of power. He let out a content sigh and relaxed further into the padded stretcher.

"You feel it too?"

The Segunda's voice came softly from his right. Kodoku had fought with a simple, berserker style, so she had been able to keep up with his predictable strikes, but because of the Primera's massive stores of reiatsu, she wasn't able to last as long in top form as he did. Kodoku didn't look at her and answered her while looking at the ceiling.

"Yeah. Blood Fever is quite curious, is it not? After getting over it, one feels a most inexplicable contentment."

"I thought you were suffering from it too," Caliga responded, and Kodoku felt the air disturbed by her nod at the confirmation of her suspicions.

"It normally takes a moon, or a month, of no spiritual activity to induce Blood Fever."

"So this'll become a regular thing?"

"As long as we continue to be who we are."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Hope you like it. Just out of curiosity, did anyone catch the Fahrenheit 451 reference? Did anyone catch the Dance Gavin Dance reference? What track did Gruesa's line come from, off the Slaughterhouse EP (great to check out if you like rap). Did you catch the band reference in one of the titles? If you caught any of them, PM me with it or drop it in a review and you'll get a shout out next chapter!

As always...

W


	7. Sky Swallowing

**A/N: ***IMPORTANT:**Go back to the beginning of the story, and re-read through. As you can see, there have been some major changes to the story (including the **title** and **summary**, if you're confused)I've added a lot of stuff, changed some stuff and fixed a lot. Understanding of the story may hinge on these added, changed, and fixed parts. I mandate you at least go back and skim for the changes. **If this is your first time reading through, or you began reading after 6/13/12**, **disregard this*****

So that was a bit of along wait...sorry, even though I said I wouldn't apologize. But I'm excited to say that we're almost through the first leg of the story. I've got a nice finale planned for you guys.

So after the semi-lull of last chapter, I'm sure you're thirsty for some action...well real action will have to wait till next chapter. Sorry. But this chapter will be the precursor to some major action, and the finale of the first leg of the story (I promise something awesome).

Ah, yes, and from now on, all Spanish that is not already Canon Bleach Terminology will be in _italics_.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

Sky Swallowing

* * *

><p>Mountains block the sight of virtue,<p>

which shadows to all for they are blind.

They have never seen the sun.

-Miss May I

* * *

><p>Three Months After the First Meeting of the Espada<p>

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>Las Noches: West Tower<p>

* * *

><p>The air moved. Something feather light brushed against her forehead.<p>

"Mmn, Kodoku?"

The sleepy groan went unanswered. Even after three months, Neliel tu Oderschvank still thought she'd wake up next to her companion. She missed how warm it'd been when she woke. She missed that little, pointless conversation they'd often share when both of them were too groggy to even think. She missed those Moons they would simply curl up together and talk; about everything and nothing. Those warm memories gently pushed her back to sleep.

She awoke again a few hours later, still equally tired, but got motivation to get up from her growling stomach. Breakfast was at nine o'clock. Yawning widely, she took a look at the clock. Her heavy hazel eyes read eleven-thirty. Nel groaned, and swung her long legs out of bed. Now she would have to fix herself something. And she had good reason for groaning; she was a terrible cook. Whenever the cooking staff hadn't prepared her meal, Kodoku had. He was a natural at food preparation, despite what Nel would have thought.

But at the thought of Kodoku, she remembered earlier in the morning. The memory was a sleepy haze, but she could've sworn she'd felt his presence here. She pried her scantily clad form out of bed and ventured downstairs. All that covered her body were some pale white undergarments. The glass staircase led Nel down into the kitchen-living room area.

A small surprise was awaiting her. The kitchen smelled warm, and of pastries. She detected the sickly sweet scent of fruit. She strolled into the kitchen, and found a full breakfast laid out for her; biscuits, butter, sliced pineapple (which Nel had made clear in the past few months was her favorite fruit), honeydew and grapes, and fresh made jams, along with a tall glass container of milk. Her stomach gurgled at the sight, but before she could dig in, she needed to confirm a hunch.

Sure enough, as she patrolled around the table she found a small note lying on the counter.

_I assume by the time you wake up, you will have missed breakfast. Remember, the Games are today, and Aizen will be holding a meeting of the Espada at six o'clock. I'll be researching gladiatorial tournaments in the library, and would not like to be disturbed; I trust you can find a way to amuse yourself until six._

The note wasn't signed, but it didn't need to be; Nel could feel his airy reiatsu all over the room. She smiled; as much as he would deny it, Kodoku was really a kind soul.

She smirked; that wouldn't stop her from exacting a little revenge for blowing her off today.

* * *

><p>Las Noches: Dome Palace<p>

* * *

><p>Sometimes, hearts are pinned on the smallest of things. In this case, a few words; a promise.<p>

"Wake up!"

The green covers were ripped off the groggy form of Gracelza Pureza. Her hakama pants and top were gone, and instead, her small form was covered by some flimsy looking white nightgown. She sat up, her chocolate hair hanging messy and loose, a thin strap of the nightgown slipping off her shoulder. She rubbed her bright caramel eyes, and looked at the form of her master, though the man would perpetually deny being called as such.

Accalar Colera struck an impressive figure, Gracelza's sleepy mind thought. With his white hair, and crimson eyes and that strange way he carried himself. It was hard to describe. It was as if he was divided into two parts; one, dangerously intense, and a second, lazy and relaxed. Yet they were both always present.

But now, the intense side was definitely more prominent.

He stood above her bed with his bloody eyes ablaze. He hadn't even gotten fully dressed himself; his torso was bare, lacking his signature barely worn long coat. The sheets he'd ripped off her bed were now burning in his hand from the radioactive nature of his leaking reiatsu. He looked livid. And from her three month tenure at the palace of the Octava, Gracelza Pureza could confidently say Accalar had never been this angry.

"Get up, Grace! You need to practice!" he shouted, tossing the blankets to the ground, "Do you know what today is?"

Grace was quiet for a moment, but quickly threw herself back onto the bed, and buried a groan into her pillow.

"Is it your birthday or something?" came her muffled voice.

It was too fast for her to react; Accalar was on her bed, and she was flipped over, pinned beneath him, her hands held in place by his own. Up close, she could see his eyes had the smallest slivers of every color imaginable, but they were swallowed by the red. She could feel the anger washing off him, radioactive like his spiritual pressure. She shivered in a way that had nothing to do with temperature.

"Do you think I'm kidding around, Grace?" he whispered, tightening his grip on her hands and pressing her farther into the bed, "They're today."

"And I've been training since they were announced," she bolted back, her caramel eyes suddenly alert and awake, "Don't you trust me, Master?"

Accalar's grip loosened, and his form went limp. He collapsed on top of Grace, who took it with a small 'umph'. But the small woman couldn't help but smile. His anger was so much like radiation; it was volatile, but decayed quickly.

"Sorry," he said lowly, still not moving a muscle. Grace wrapped her arms around his shirtless form. Or at least she tried; his torso was so thick her small arms barely fit around him. For a second, the two seemed to forget everything; except for the simplistic solace they found in the other's body. For a second, at least.

"Yeah, yeah, Master," Grace said, pushing the larger form of Accalar off her and scooting over so he could lie next to her, "I'll be fine!"

She then turned onto her side to look at the Octava. His eyes were downcast, and his fingers were drawing a design on the bed only he could see. It seemed far too complex for anyone to remember, yet the albino traced it over and over again. It only reminded Grace of how varied Accalar could be.

"Are you sure I didn't forget about your _cumpleanos_?" she said, captivated by the design he was making. It was a long time before Accalar responded. The designs he was making became a lot bigger and simpler.

"I don't want you to die." the design became a small circle as he spoke. His voice was barely more than a breath, his eyes barely open

It was quiet, but Gracelza heard. After it sunk in, she reached over, and covered his drawing hand with her own.

"I promise you, Accalar, I'll be fine," she said, her hand traveling up to his face. Only then did his crimson eyes turn to her.

"I'll hold you to it, Grace."

Of course he'd hold her to it; one doesn't loan their hearts out without a full guarantee, after all.

* * *

><p>Las Noches: Medical Wing<p>

* * *

><p>Gruesa Venganza wasn't stupid by any means.<p>

"I need it."

Such a low, sensual whisper. She was looked entirely too desirous; sprawled there on her lab table, her white dress slipping off her shoulders, her hair disheveled, a slight flush about her cheeks.

Dejara Floja made Gruesa Venganza do stupid things.

With a hiss, the reiatsu that glued the many sections of his gauntlets together dissipated and the two metal hunks fell to the floor. His hands were bare; he wanted to feel her with his own skin. With a buzz he was on top of her. In her cold orange eyes there was nothing but a primal desire; she didn't know anything else.

He fell onto her, ad his mouth found hers without hesitation. Her lips were cold. His kissing was urgent, as if he was the one who needed this, not her. Her lips held none of the urgency his did, though her lips moved against his just as fervently.

For a while his hands stayed cupping her face, but as they delved deeper into each other, he found them wandering; down her neck and slim shoulders; to the curve of her breasts, which were so delightfully pressed against him; to her sides and hips. Her fingers didn't roam his body; she didn't delight in his body, like he did hers.

They stayed wrapped iron tight around his neck.

After minutes they separated, breathing heavily. Gruesa lifted her up, and stood. She dutifully wrapped her legs around his hips. Soon she was up against the wall, as Gruesa attacked her neck. Her dress and Gruesa's vest lay forgotten on the table. He made a slow path down to her breasts kissing every part of he could. But she didn't moan, or call out his name. She didn't do anything.

His mouth engulfed one of her nipples, and finally he got a reaction her silky legs tightened around his hips, grinding into him. But when he looked up, her orange eyes were still devoid of anything but simple lust.

"I need it," she repeated, in a husky, but emotionless tone.

"Then let's take this back to my palace," Gruesa growled, and made sure she was secure before using shooting off with sonido.

He would have her at his palace for hours, pleasing her, taking her in. But it would become clear to him (on some level it was always clear to him) that she saw this as nothing more than pleasure. As she'd said she _needed _it. He would disregard it and continue.

They'd been doing this for the past three months, whenever she had felt the need, as any arrancar did.

But always after they were finished, and collapsed in a sweaty heap, he would wonder if it was stupid.

He would wonder if it was stupid to love someone who didn't know how to love.

* * *

><p>Las Noches: Library<p>

* * *

><p>Kodoku turned a thick page of Roman Gladiatorial Accounts.<p>

_Speritis was one of the most notorious gladiators to have won through each challenge that was put before him. He excelled in sea faring combat, as he was a naval officer for the Egyptians under the name of Oeruk, before he was eventually captured in Roman waters. He was widely regarded as one of the most skilled gladiators of the century. He was the first under the New Roman Law (see page 246) to win through all the gladiatorial challenges and win freedom. However, because of a love affair between him and the wife of Emperor Hadrion, he was executed through crucifixion, a very common punishment for gladiators. His exploits include..._

He was sprawled on one of the plush couches of Las Noches's library. His zanpakuto and a pile of books were stacked on a nearby table. All of them said similar things about various gladiatorial tournaments across history; a ruler, often a tyrant, looking for entertainment would select warriors to fight each other, in a tournament where he designed the rules. The only reward for these warriors would be freedom.

However today, there would be no freedom, even for the victors.

Kodoku turned his attention back to his book, but quickly threw it aside. He rolled his wrist, and a gust of air carried a book on the Spartans of Greece into his hand. He flipped through it, then tossed it to the ground as well. Sighing, Kodoku draped a hand over his eyes.

He needed to think.

History, Kodoku noticed, has a knack of repeating itself. All the kings and emperors he'd read of had fell. What would stop Aizen's rule from falling, even if he managed to claim the throne of the nonexistent God? Kodoku didn't empathize with Aizen in the slightest, but he thought the man would surely come to realize this as he had, for as smart as Kodoku was, he knew Aizen's intelligence and cunning were a cut above his own.

What would Aizen gain from these games? Was there something he just couldn't see?

"Don't think too hard, you might hurt yourself."

It took a long moment for Kodoku to register that someone had spoken to him, and an even longer moment for him to recognize the soft, but flinty tone.

"Funny, Caliga," Kodoku responded, eyes still closed.

Pushing his thoughts of Aizen's schemes to the backseat if his mind, the Primera sat up. Sitting cross legged on the table in front of him was the Segunda. She had her chin resting on t he heels of both her palms, her arms propped up on her knees. Her midnight eyes seemed almost excited, but her face was as stoic as ever.

"Can I help you with something?" Kodoku inquired, throwing her a lazy a glance

"Actually, there is," Caliga said, her thin mouth looking like it wanted to smirk, "I want you to look at something for me, and give me an opinion."

"Well I'm a bit busy right now," he said, gesturing to the stack of books with a wave of his hand.

Now Caliga almost smiled.

"Really?" she said, an exaggerated widening of the eyes and mouth helping her to feign surprise. She leaned forward a bit, and said in an innocent tone, "But _Nel_ said you were free today."

Kodoku's eyes widened, and then narrowed at Caliga. Since when was she on a first name basis with Nel? Damn it. He'd gotten a strange feeling. In his gut when he'd written that note this morning; he'd followed through with his plans on a whim. And now, of course, she'd found a way to get back at him. A smirk crossed his pale face. With a companion like Nel, who needed Aizen?

"Why are you helping her?" Kodoku asked her, but he didn't really need to know; he's already decided he might as well do whatever menial task Caliga had to disturb his peace.

He stood, rolling his shoulder blades, and cracking various parts of his body, a persistent habit of his. Caliga stood to, almost standing toe to toe with Kodoku as she glared up at him, "Maybe I really need your help. Ever think of that, genius?"

Kodoku blinked, but before he could possibly respond, she'd turned and was making her way out of the library, obviously expecting him to follow. Kodoku hadn't spent much time with the Segunda, save for their cataclysmic sparring match a month ago, when they'd both been heavily under the influence of Blood Fever. Of course, he'd seen her in passing in the halls of Las Noches and the infrequent Espada meetings. He couldn't imagine anything she'd want with him, besides maybe relieving her reiatsu strains by smacking the shit out of him.

"Come on," she called over her shoulder, but didn't stop to wait for him.

Sighing and shaking his head, Kodoku stalled after her. With his long strides and knowledge of the library's complex layout he was able to reach her just before she reached the exit. She was scowling a head of her, and didn't comment when he pulled up beside her.

"What exactly am I going to be looking at?" Kodoku asked as they turned to walk in the opposite direction of the one that would lead back to her palace.

"You'll find out when we get there," she growled, but her voice softened a bit as she added, "I think you may like it, though."

Kodoku could only raise a silver brow, and smirk; his curiosity had been piqued.

* * *

><p>The two Espada made their way out of Las Noches, one with a clear destination in mind, the other with a burningly curious anticipation. Kodoku noted the direction they were heading; if he was correct, they were heading to the South Eastern part of the desert, putting them just East of Tia's old abode. They didn't share a word. Caliga walked in a rhythmically fast pace. Her motions didn't change at all, from step to step, even when she increased her pace.<p>

She was really quite small, Kodoku noted. Had Kodoku not fought her, he wouldn't have believed she was almost as powerful as he was. Yet other than the fact that she could hold her own in a fight against someone of his caliber, Kodoku knew next to nothing about her. He found himself glaring at the back of her black ponytail. What motivated her?

"We're almost there," she glancing over her shoulder to find Kodoku glaring at her, "What?"

"Just wondering what we're going out into the middle of the desert for," Kodoku responded silkily, slanting his glare now directly into her midnight eyes.

"What kind of Vasto Lorde were you, to not know the meaning of patience?" she shot back, her response silencing whatever Kodoku was going to say next.

They walked for another half an hour in silence, before Caliga stopped, signaling they'd arrived. This place was almost as far South as Kodoku had ever traveled, far past Tia's stone home. But that hardly mattered because Kodoku was trying to comprehend what the place was.

It was an enormous pit, at least a mile in diameter, with sides that didn't look like they were made from an explosion, or something forceful; they were too gracefully simple and smooth. Scattered across the pit were what Kodoku could only describe as _things_; stones, trash, swords and countless other objects Kodoku had never even seen before.

"What is this?" Kodoku said in wonder, striding into the pit of things. He heard Caliga shuffle behind him. He shifted his feet so he stopped sliding and looked back at her. The proud Segunda had a most sheepish look on her face.

"It's um," she murmured and scratched her cheek, "my collection."

"Collection, huh?" Kodoku said with amusement, a grin painting his pale features, then continuing on his way into the pit.

Caliga flushed a deep red, and shook her head, "I don't even know why I'm showing you this..."

Kodoku didn't hear her; he was too busy patrolling around the various objects. One was a multicolored tin can that had the words 'Coke-Cola' on the side. He was sure that wasn't native to Hueco Mundo.

"Are these from the World of the Living?" he asked, as he made his way around a large stone column with pictures etched into its crumbling surface.

"Yeah," Caliga meekly responded, appearing silently beside Kodoku, "I go there a lot. The humans have such fascinating things-but they throw out half of it."

Kodoku nodded. To be frank, he was amazed. Everything in the pit, he was sure, was a story. Over on the other side, there was an enormous mast, look as if it was attached to a ship. He looked to the short arrancar by his side. She fondly looked at each of the items

"But these aren't what I wanted to show you," she said, and Kodoku could've sworn he saw a smile make its brief, fluttering appearance around her mouth. She led him towards the center of the pit, the deepest point, and pointed, "That's it."

Kodoku was shocked; laying there in the sand was a sword unlike any other he'd ever seen. It was massive, but not in the way the Octava's blade was large; it was a completely scaled up version of a standard long sword that looked as if it was made to be wielded by a giant. It was so large it wouldn't look out of place in the hands of a Menos Grande.

But that was only the beginning.

It was grey, with crackles of obsidian woven throughout the metal, as if the metal and rock were one. The handle's wrapping had long since eroded, leaving behind grooves where the fabric once was. Though the massive blade was chipped and cracked in places, a discernible length of runes ran along its center. They were of a language Kodoku had never seen, but somehow he knew exactly how to say the words on that sword.

"_Absorbens Caelum," _Kodoku whispered, the words feeling familiar on his tongue.

* * *

><p>Las Noches: Espada Meeting Hall<p>

* * *

><p>"Today, as I've said, is an important day. It represents our first step forward into our conflict with the Soul Society…"<p>

All the Espada were gathered in the Espada Meeting Hall seated at their usual table, while Aizen explained whatever event was going to occur in an hour. Something with numeros, something with fraccion; Caliga Dalcare couldn't concentrate on the words coming from his mouth.

Her thoughts were still trying to make sense of the Primera.

She knew Kodoku Takahashi was unbelievably strong, so strong he'd come to be known as the Storm King throughout Hueco Mundo. But she hadn't a clue as to his age. When she'd spoken to Nel earlier, before she'd gone to Kodoku, the green haired arrancar had said Kodoku was 344 years old. It wasn't that surprising, considering his power. But to know the words on that sword…

Caliga frowned, and blew her bangs out of her eyes. The silver haired arrancar sat across from her. He seemed off as well, barely nodding to Aizen's words. His own ability seemed to surprise himself more so than it had her. Caliga had been collecting artifacts for the past two centuries, and she could safely say that that sword was from a totally different time period in Hueco Mundo.

She didn't know how long ago it was, but she knew Kodoku shouldn't know of it; Caliga herself was 412 years in age, and she hadn't known it. She theorized it was the first language of Hueco Mundo, in an era where she was sure things were much more organized; from some of the things she'd seen she thought there might have even been some sort of government.

Maybe Kodoku was lying about his age? But Nel had told her that.

Caliga glanced across the table to see Nel whisper something to Kodoku. She noted the way she leaned into him, and turned her head so her lips just brushed against his ear. The supposedly omnipotent Storm King blushed like a school girl.

And why would Kodoku lie to her? They were closer than Caliga had ever seen two hollows.

So he either had some abnormal connection with this era, or Kodoku Takahashi was older than he thought he was.

A lot older.

"…and with that, we will adjourn. I hope you all will enjoy yourselves today; opportunities like this will be few and far between soon. We'll begin our offensive shortly."

Most of the Espada simply stood and left. Kodoku was, like her, a bit disoriented because his thoughts too were outside the meeting. Caliga was about to say something to him, but Nel grabbed his and pulled him down the hall, saying something about grabbing a seat.

Just who _was_ Kodoku Takahashi?

As she sat, and let her thoughts wander again, Caliga felt a large hand on her small shoulder. She looked up to see the gargantuan arm of the Decima, Madera Marchitez. He was smiling in a friendly manner.

"Didn't pay attention during the meeting?" he asked in his rumbling, woody tone.

"No," she said, unsmiling, but her midnight eyes warmed a bit when she saw the smile in his acidic ones, "But I'm guessing you did, Madera."

"Come on, I'll give you the run down on the way," Madera said, plucking his axe up and resting it on his shoulder. Once he saw Caliga was up, he buzzed off, and she followed.

* * *

><p>Las Noches: Numero Wing<p>

* * *

><p><em>"Really, wolfling, I'm gonna be fine. You think somethin' like this would stop me?"<em>

_She wasn't going to make it._

_As much as he told himself otherwise, a large, canine Adjuchas knew that to be the truth. His ears were pressed flat against his long head, trying to block out the sound of the thousands of hollows screaming. He simply couldn't take the noise._

_On the ground, he heard a small, shuddering laugh. He didn't want to look at her. He didn't want to see the strongest hollow he'd ever known weak. But his navy eyes found her ther, crumpled there on the ground._

_She used to magnificent; long, wings of translucent feathers, a thin, beautiful, humanoid figure only a Vasto Lorde could posses, and an avian mask. Now, she was broken; her wings were clipped and bloodied, her body torn, and her mask merely a few broken white plates._

_But she still laughed; like she was once again teaching him how to hunt; like he was still the pup she found dying on the dunes; like they were going to hunt and joke about taking a vacation to the World of the Living next Moon; like she was going to make it._

_But she wasn't._

_She grinned; the mask around her mouth had been completely shattered, exposing a delicate, fleshy pair of lips and a narrow chin. Her lavender eyes weren't clinging desperately to life. No, they were giving him the most caring stare she'd ever given him. Tears pooled in the wolf hollow's eyes. Until this Moon, he'd been unsure whether hollows could cry. But this sadness felt as if it was tearing a second hole in him. He knew it was tearing a hole in her, too._

_But she was smiling; another beautiful thing he never knew hollows could do._

_"Still can't stand the sights and sounds of Hueco Mundo, eh?" her voice was so weak, but her words hadn't lost their strength. The wolf hollow stared at her resolutely, and perked up his ears. She laughed at his resolve, but it quickly lapsed into a frame shaking cough. Blood flecked the sand_

_"Listen to me, Vurmond," she whispered as the moon grew full, "You've grown so strong. I'm sure you'll have no trouble surviving. I won't burden you with remembering me. I just need you to keep one thing in mind; no hollow can live alone. Solitude doesn't exist on these..."_

_She didn't finish. Iridescent feathers faded as her spiritual pressure evaporated. Her lips smiled one last smile at him._

_She was dead._

_The wolf hollow's tears stopped. No hollow can live alone. He couldn't count how many times he'd heard her say that little phrase. Only now did he realize what she meant; he would survive undoutedly. But in this instant, he'd died._

_It was with a great numbness that he tipped his head back and howled, his eyes wide and ears receptive. It was a terrible sound, but it spoke volumes; it said he was alone, and everything in his very existence resented the fact._

_It said he needed someone. The wolf's howl was a cry for help._

_The desert was struck silent._

_No one came._

A single man was in the numero wing. In fact, he was one of the only arrancar, or person for that matter, currently in Las Noches. A cold draft ran up from the ground, clinging to the walls and slinking its way up into the rafters where the man was currently laying. His tall form was flat against one of the many support beams that crisscrossed at intricately placed intervals in the ceiling of the Numero Dining Hall. The draft made gooseflesh stand up on his slightly pale skin.

The cold carried emptiness.

Used to the constant activity below him, and somewhat surprised by the lack of it, the man sat up lazily. He swung his legs over the side of the stone and looked down upon the empty tables, and chairs. He took a long whiff. There wasn't any food cooking either.

"Where'd everyone go?" he asked himself, his voice scruffy from his sleep.

Normally the man, a numero, didn't care about what his fellows were doing. That's why he got up early to eat his breakfast, and then kept to the rafters for majority of his time. He went to his room long after everyone else had. He suppressed his spiritual pressure whenever he moved beyond the Dining Hall. He was invisible, just how he liked it. It was pretty easy, after all, with 147 arrancar before you, and countless others after.

Never again would other's eyes weigh on him. Nobody would need to see how broken and decrepit his heart was. It was a sort of freedom, and he enjoyed it; he reveled in it. Solitude was his escape.

He needed it.

But now, such a dramatic change was enough to give the man pause. He blinked heavily, his dark blue eyes dreading having to get up. But as his body coaxed him into remaining, he remembered where everyone was supposed to be. A groan left his mouth.

"The _Sangrietos Juegos_," he muttered darkly.

Another exaggerated groan left his mouth as he flipped off his perch.

* * *

><p>Hueco Mundo: Desert Floor<p>

* * *

><p>The desert for miles around was a bathed in the sound of voices, all emanating from a single point. Lower hollows would normally be attracted to the epicenter of the activity and spiritual pressure, like moths to flames. But there were 13 bonfires of spiritual pressure burned so bright, even the lower hollows were struck with fear.<p>

Because of this, three miles from Las Noches, a massive gathering could make all the noise it wanted. The source of the somewhat mindless noise was a massive, roman style stadium. The structure was white, similar to Las Noches, and had ground entrances on the desert floor. Pale flags blew in the wind around the top rim of the stadium. It had a gigantic arena space in comparison to the stands, which rose only a hundred feet in the air at their highest around the stadium. The floor space was easily the length of a football field in every direction.

The seats were made of compacted sand, as was the whole stadium. They were raised so that the lowest rows were fifteen feet above the fighting floor. All the seats were occupied by the residents of Las Noches; numeros, cooking staff, cleaning staff and everything in between. All had gathered to watch the _Sangrietos Juegos_.

The Espada sat on a raised platform on the west side of the stadium, christened the _Cuenco_, in ten throne like chairs. There were no numero seats around them, due to the vast weight of their combined presence. Above them and farther back was another platform, with three chairs that housed Gin Ichimaru, Kaname Tousen and Sosuke Aizen. The stadium stood stark and unnatural in the desert. After all, in a land only used to destruction, why then, should there be creation?

That particular thought amused Sosuke Aizen to no end. Creations from chaos; his creations. He would be a God long before he fully merged with the Hogyoku. The orb pulsated in his pocket, as if in protest.

The vile man chuckled to himself, before acknowledging the dream granter's point. He would not the first God to walk the sands of Hueco Mundo. But that-his place as a God-would have to wait; for now, he had to move the last of his pawns into place. A phantom sense of excitement slithered into his stomach.

The work of Gods was quite pleasing.

His cruel smile was wide in anticipation for the day's events. He had been planning this for the three months he'd taken up residence in Las Noches. The final preliminary step. After this, his master plan could finally begin. The last of his most powerful soldiers were going to be selected today. He was close to being ready to make his move. What were his enemies doing to counter, he wondered, his evil smile growing a touch. He laced his fingers beneath his chin and let another smirk come to his lips.

It didn't matter: he'd thought of every move on the board already.

* * *

><p>Soul Society: Squad 10 Barracks<p>

* * *

><p>The sun was a bright yellow blotch. The sky was a pasty crayon blue. Clouds were wispy white puffs. The leaves were sage green and smooth. The dirt was brown and silky, peppered with hard rocks and coarse roots. The cement was warm and even. The buildings were low and humble, white and firm. Though they were common truths even a child could attest to, Ningen Geretsuna was comforted by them.<p>

He delighted in the fact that, though he'd been blind for a millennium, he hadn't been fooling himself about the beauty of the world. Though he still wore a pair of shaded glasses over his light sensitive eyes, he had never felt closer to that beauty.

His form was sitting casually on a large, flat rock that was shaded by the low lying branches of a sakura tree. He'd changed from his prison robes to a standard shinigami uniform, with a long grey, cloak lined with purple, with a high, jagged collar. He'd recovered some of his old jewelry, which had survived a millennium; a few rings that enhanced his kido, a necklace with a flat black pendant that stored his excess spiritual pressure and nose-rings and earrings, which only served cosmetic purposes. He hopped up from his rock, and was rewarded with a curtain of darkness falling in front of his eyes.

His swept his wild black hair out of his face. It was unusual for it to be this soft. He didn't really put too much weight on hygiene. But after a thousand years, he found it remarkable how he'd gone so long without one. In fact, his first shower in a thousand years had been earlier today. Even he drew a phantom joy from being clean. It was another reminder of the simple fact he was free. Though he told himself he would bear his imprisonment with grace, he couldn't help but feel a guilty pleasure in enjoying his freedom. Slowly, he began to stroll around the perimeter of the grassy courtyard.

He was currently in the 10th squad courtyard, but he didn't know it as such. The growth the white city had undergone amazed Ningen. He'd simply strolled through the streets, taking in the new layout of the city. In his time, the Seireitei had been little more than a cluster of buildings on a small mountain. Grass had grown so much. The trees grew so much taller. It was the only thing he regretted about his imprisonment; he'd missed out on that beauty.

It was a beauty his paintings could never reproduce, no matter how many small, precise, strokes he made. Something always managed to elude him and his. That something was, for lack of a better word, life. He simply couldn't paint the indescribable quality of life. For a thousand years he forced himself to try to replicate that beauty, that life, from every little scrap of memory he had. It had kept his mind sharp, and was quite possibly the only reason he hadn't gone insane. A shameless smile crossed his face.

Maybe he'd gone a little insane.

"Who's there?"

A beautiful voice, comparable to the surreal beauty of a wet finger sliding on the rim of a crystal glass. Ningen turned, his hand flying to where his zanpakuto should've been, but wasn't. Before him however was a woman. Ningen blinked in surprise.

Now he was sure he'd gone insane.

Before him was a woman whose beauty was surely an insane delusion.

Long, wavy strawberry blond hair cascaded down her shoulders and back. Her face was immaculately formed, as if God had a zero percent margin for error, and was using the most beautiful of his angels as a model. Delightfully plump lips dwelt beneath a straight nose, and they were capped by a pair of blue eyes birthed from sapphires.

Her body was the very definition of femininity, almost sinfully so. From the way her loose shinigami robes exposed her ample breasts, she seemed to know that as well. She stood with a hand on her womanly hips. She wore a pink scarf about her shoulders, and a silver necklace vanished into the expanses of her breasts.

Ningen tilted his head back and laughed.

"Ah, what message do you have to deliver? The last one taught me the distance between my eyes," maybe he sounded mad, but this woman was a product of his madness. How could she be anything else? He was sure that only the goddesses could possibly posses this level of beauty.

The woman frowned and walked closer to him.

"Who the hell are you?" she said, cocking her head to the side, "and what are you doing at our squad barracks?"

"Shouldn't you know better than I?" was his only mocking response as the woman reached him.

To his surprise, she grabbed him by his collar, and tried in vain to lift him. She then settled for jerking him forward. Up close, he could see the minuscule wrinkles on her brow from her frowning, and the layered texture of her blue eyes. He could see the patches of moisture on her lips.

"Just who do you think you're messing with, buddy?" she breathed heatedly at him, sending the wave of wet warmth directly into his face.

"A by-product of my insanity and these unfamiliar surroundings," he said, showing no signs of discomfort. At this the woman let go of him her solid blue eyes widening.

"Insanity?"

"What, has my psyche not kept you in the loop?" he grinned a self-important grin, "Well, dear, I'm afraid, that I'm certifiably mentally unstable. You're a personality my mind has created in order to try to salvage my sanity. So if you'd teach your lesson, it'd be most appreciated."

"Look here, buddy boy, I'm not your imaginary friend," She once again placed her hand on her hip, "I'm Rangiku Matsumoto, lieutenant of Squad 10."

He pulled off his dark glasses, and regarded her with his murky, purple eyes. He gazed at her for a long minute, and she glared back at him.

"Ridiculous."

Rangiku opened her mouth to respond, but he barreled straight through her words.

"Surely such a beautiful woman isn't real. And I know I haven't had contact with the opposite sex in a thousand years, but I think my mind is going a bit overboard..."

He continued talking, oblivious to the fact she wasn't listening. She had a look of wonder plastered on her face, which quickly turned to laughter, her slim shoulders bucking with the sound. A long, smooth, waterfall of laughter. His speech slowly winded down to a halt, his mouth open and his purple eyes wide, "What?"

"You're real, aren't you?" she said through a radiant smile, then reached up and patronizingly patted his cheek, once, twice, "You seem a little los, so I'll give you a hint; I am, too."

His eyes were wide, more so than they had been before. Any word he was going to say was stopped up in his throat, and she used his pause to throw in her own two cents.

"Though, I'll give you credit," she said, smiling a soft, not so innocent smile, "that was quite the pickup line."

By this time, he'd relapsed back into sanity, or at least whatever version he'd had for the past millennia. His purple eyes lit up in interest, and his brow slanted upwards.

"Pick up line? What's that?"

Once again the woman laughed. Ningen bit back a choice series of curses that sprung to the back of his throat. Maybe they'd jumped using the tension from the strange knot in his stomach this woman was tying. But he didn't dwell on it, he simply went about deciphering her phrase, and why she was amused by his lack of knowledge of it. That was one of the few benefits of his insanity; things that might've worried him didn't. Things that would've given him pause didn't.

He was free of them.

"Ah, I see now," he said, smirking at his own discovery, "that's some sort of contemporary phrase denoting the act of inducing interest in a stranger of the opposite sex."

He noted with minor annoyance that a grin of laughter flashed in her eyes, but she herself didn't laugh. Instead, the interest he'd just described seemed to be emanating from her.

"Who are you, really?" her voice held an edge of wonder, though she didn't know who he was, it was clear that even she could tell there was something different about him.

"Ningen Geretsuna, if you must know," Ningen brushed the nonexistent dust off his front as he spoke. Once again, to his complete surprise, the woman laughed. Another curse tried to worm its way from behind his clenched teeth. Was it some new fad to laugh when someone was introducing themselves?

"What is so funny?"

"You," Rangiku said between heaves of laughter.

"Elaborate."

"Well, you said your name was Ningen Geretsuna."

"I was there."

She giggled again.

"You really don't get it? Ningen Geretsuna, who we all went to bed hearing stories about?"

Rangiku noted the way his brow dipped, and the animated look in his eyes grew a bit weary.

"What kind of stories?"

She frowned at him. His shoulders had shrunk in his high collared grey cloak, and he seemed so much...older. He appeared to be only 25, at the very most, but that could translate to as many as 250 years for a shinigami. But even that was relatively young. It was strange, to say the least, to see that haunted look in his dusk purple eyes. It startled her so much, she proceeded cautiously.

"The stories goes like this," she said slowly, carefully, "A young, brash shinigami named Ningen Geretsuna wanted to rule the Soul Society, to lead it into the golden age he foresaw."

Her index finger rose, and pranced around.

The Captain Commander didn't want to let him, so he went to Hueco Mundo, to get an army of their people to help him, but they fought a war because of him."

Her finger was opposed by her fist. The finger stalked off, and then all her fingers wiggled together.

"He took the opportunity to steal the eyes of the most powerful hollow."

The index finger brushed against the opposite thumb.

"When he came back, he challenged the Head Captain. With the stolen eyes, he blacked out the sun. Even the Head Captain's flames were extinguished."

Here she pointed to the clouds.

"It was the only time the Head Captain has ever released his bankai, and with it he was able to defeat Ningen Geretsuna."

Her other hand flicked her index finger, which pathetically sputtered, and died.

"But Ningen escaped into the night. They say to this day, he plots to take over the Soul Society."

Silence crushed both of them. Ningen's eyes were shadowed. A few thick strands of his wild hair farther obscured his eyes.

"That's not the end of the story," he said, with a certain dread. Dreading the end of the story only a few people knew. They were going to have to add Rangiku Matsumoto to that list.

"Genryiusai didn't just defeat him. His bones were crushed. His skin charred, his eyes melted from the heat. His hair was torn out. His blood soaked the land he wanted so desperately to protect. And he didn't escape, either. They made sure he answered for his crimes. They locked him up, took away his eyes, and let him rot for eternity."

Rangiku's eyes were wide, and her mouth equally so. His story had shaken something inside her. Maybe it had been the way it seemed to pain him to speak. Or the way it seemed like he was remembering it, and putting it to words as he spoke. Or the bittersweet smile he'd worn when he corrected the points in the story. It had birthed a strange suspicion in her gut, and Rangiku was almost afraid to think closer to it. She was scared she knew who he was. No, she was scared of who she thought he was.

"Mr. Geretsuna?"

The voice came from a small child with cold white hair and ice green eyes. A ceremonial white haori clung to his small form. Ningen thought he looked cold, as if the responsibility on his shoulder was far too big and chilly a room for such a small child. He was probably shivering.

"The Head Captain would like to see you."

Ningen nodded, and walked past the beautiful woman, whose laugh was startling, and personality was enticing at the very least. An angel, indeed. He brushed past her, and then said over his shoulder.

"It's been nice speaking with you, Ms. Matsumoto, lieutenant of Squad 10."

Soon he and Captain Hitsugaya vanished with flash step. Rangiku frowned. Today, she'd expected to go drinking, shirk her work, and annoy her captain. A normal day, in other words. Instead, she'd met an handsome, unwittingly charming, but insane man, who was quite possibly the most evil shinigami in all of history.

She'd need that drink just a little more now.

* * *

><p>Hueco Mundo: Desert Floor<p>

* * *

><p>Kodoku rested his cheek against his fist. When was this damn tournament going to start? It had been hours since he'd first arrived at the <em>Cuenco<em> alongside Nel, and the events Aizen had so eloquently told them about were yet to commence. Though it had been empty when he arrived, the place had quickly filled up. Though, the Primera would have to admit, it did feel good to be out under the Moon again.

He sat in one of throne-like chairs closest to the center, Nel to his left, and Caliga Dalcare to his right. The Segunda too seemed impatient at the pace of the proceedings, and had lost interest in the red and white bowl of popcorn in her lap. Nel was humming softly under her breath, a tune unfamiliar to Kodoku.

"What's that?" Kodoku asked Nel over the constant talking of the numeros. She looked at him in surprise, snapped out of the less than attentive state her humming left her in.

"I heard it once, but I can't remember where," she said smiling in an almost apologetic manner, "I've known it my entire afterlife."

The tune seemed vaguely familiar to Kodoku. He nodded, and was about to ponder the subject, but was interrupted by an incessantly ravenous Espada.

"Mmf, Ko-o-ku, path me mo' po-corn!"

The Primera rolled his eyes as he snagged the bowl from Caliga's lap and tossed it deftly to Accalar, who was sitting two seats in from the edge. With a twitch of his thumb, Kodoku kept the bowl from spinning in the air, and a slow twist of his index finger allowed it to fall slowly into the albino's lap. As Kodoku became more experienced with the abilities of his arrancar form, he found that his wind manipulation could be done with a mere thought, but bodily movements helped for more precise tasks.

"'Anks, Ko-o-ku," Accalar slurred through his new mouthful of popcorn.

Nel giggled at Accalar, and Kodoku once again found himself entranced by the sound. Unintentionally, a content smile surfaced on his face. She noticed, and her own smile grew.

"What's got you so happy?" she asked, leaning on the arm of her chair towards Kodoku, punching him playfully on the arm. The pale arrancar looked at her and hesitated just long enough for Nel to tell he was lying.

"I think I'm rather exited to get a fraccion," he said, with an arm movement to suggest his interest.

Well, not a complete lie. Kodoku had become, almost against his own will, interested in the prospect of having a student. He wasn't so sure about the servant aspect of it. He'd have to break the master image of himself if whoever he chose was particularly submissive.

The tournament was designed for the most powerful of the numeros to fight each other in a round robin style. There were eighteen participants, and they were divided into two groups of nine. From there, it'd be single elimination; once you lost you were out.

Though it would also serve the numeros believe they were part of Aizen's overall plan, thus securing their loyalty, the _Sangrietos Juegos_ were designed to help each Espada select a fraccion.

Aside from Accalar, no Espada had a fraccion.

Gruesa and Grimmjow were fighting for dibs on the strongest, while everyone else seemed a bit more careful in their approach. Madera had stated he was going to make his decision entirely on their honor as a warrior. Dejara was making her choice on who she calculated would be the best match for her personality, and would fall within her ability to train. Ulquiorra hadn't voiced an opinion on the matter, but Kodoku assumed he had a method of his own.

Tia hadn't said anything in regards to a fraccion. In fact she'd spoken even less once the _Sangrietos Juegos_ were announced.

Kodoku didn't know what Nel or Caliga was going to do, but he had an idea of what he wanted.

His fraccion would have to surprise him. That's was all he really cared about.

He wanted a student that was remarkable in their own right, as anything less would bore him. But he was also curious as to who Caliga and Nel were to pick, and why. He glanced over at the black and white haired Espada to his right. She was fidgeting in her seat, crossing and uncrossing her legs, alternating the side she was shifted to, and tapping her feet impatiently. Kodoku felt himself smirk.

He jabbed the Segunda in her side. She squirmed for a moment, her legs twisting and her arms flying to protective positions.

She turned so quickly her legs knocked against the arm of her throne. Her midnight eyes gave Kodoku an ominous glare.

"What?" her eyes growled and she said in a even tone.

"Just wondering how you're going to pick your fraccion."

"You're a _cabron_, you know that?"

"Now, now," Kodoku said, his devious smirk changing fluidly to an airy grin, "my question was serious."

Caliga considered for a moment, her arm going unconsciously to rub her chin.

"I don't quite know. I'll know whoever it is when I see them," she said, shaking her white bangs out of her eyes.

"So you'd leave it up to fate?" Kodoku now raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" her eyes grew distant, "It's brought me this far, hasn't it?"

Kodoku's eyebrows dipped. His icy blue eye now pegged her with a stare of curiosity, mixed with foreboding; curious, as to her past, but slightly wary of what could make the Segunda's eyes seem so pained.

Curiosity, however, got the better of him.

Kodoku really shouldn't have been surprised. After the events of earlier today, he couldn't help but be intrigued by the Segunda, especially now that he thought she might hold a key to his past.

He closed his right eye, and kept his left eye open. It didn't matter that his left eye was shrouded by his hair; he didn't need to see her. He desperately hoped this worked the same way it did in his hollow form. Thankfully, it did. The intricate designs in his left iris glowed, and he concentrated on Caliga, or more accurately, what was causing her expression.

His eye saw through time.

_A black and white deer hollow stood on a large, sandy hill. Her thin tail was still, and her bull like horns reflected moonlight in different directions. The moon was full and pure white. The world was silent._

_But only for an instant._

_Feral roars coated the air. The hideous sound of ripping limbs could be heard. Clashing bony extensions perhaps made the worst sound; brittle cracking, followed a fraction of a second later by an echoic screech of anguish. Below the hill, two armies of hollows fought. The armies were enormous; their frontline was more than a mile across._

_Battles between hollows were gruesome enough._

_A war was indescribable._

_In the center of the fighting was a massive clearing. Directly at the its center was a hollow. He was merely a skeleton with a thick, billowing purple robe about him. A golden, pointed crown caressed his dead skull. Any hollow that ventured too close to him simply disintegrated._

_Barragan Luisenbarn. The self proclaimed God King of Hueco Mundo, and leader of one of the two fighting armies. Unlike the leader of his opposition, the deer like hollow, he had no quarrels with entering the fray himself._

_A buzz resounded behind the deer like hollow. An adjuchas with long, whip like arms and a thin body appeared, his sonido barely disturbing the sand._

_"Mistress," he began, bowing his pointed head, "Our forces are holding steadfast, and they hold onto the hope that you will begin to fight soon."_

_"But what troubles you, messenger?" the deer hollows voice was quiet, but deadly._

_"Am I that transparent?" the messenger hollow mused for a second, "But, my mistress, or situation has turned grim."_

_The deer hollow continued to look out at the battlefield, but her tail had begun to swish._

_"What could be so grim it has my most reliable messenger, whose exploits include the most bloody of battles we've fought, shaking with fear?" her voice was still quiet, but her midnight eyes were hard._

_The messenger paused for a moment._

_"Our battle with Luisenbarn's forces seems to have attracted the attention of a Vasto Lorde."_

_She was silent. Both their extended senses could feel the elephantine weight pressing on their periphery._

_"No Vasto Lorde could be of consequence to a battle between the armies gods."_

_She knew this one could. She really did. But the shameful hope that she felt spurred her denial._

_"This Vasto Lorde is different, Mistress," the messenger hollow looked off towards two massive sand mountains in the distance then pointed there, "From the south, this hollow approaches. But I have yet to see his form; he is shrouded by a storm."_

_Both hollows watched as darkness began to swirl about the peaks of the sand mountains. They could see the sand begin to blow, and in an instant, the two mountains of sand were completely erased, displaced and replaced by the towering black storm clouds that were rotating towards the battle at a leisurely pace. They moved in time with the predatory stride of the Vasto Lorde in its center. As the clouds constantly shifted, they caught the occasional glimpse of silver armor._

_In a minute, the clouds had blocked out the moon._

Kodoku closed his left eye. He didn't need to see what happened next. He knew all the events of that storm-lit battle; the cataclysm consumed the entire battlefield, and it ordered the two armies to go their separate ways. It had asked for Barragan Luisenbarn to come before it. They defied it, continuing their battle, and the storm simply wiped the whole area flat. What little amount of hollow soldiers survived fled from the place. Barragan Luisenbarn was killed personally by silver clad storm king that had dwelt inside the black clouds. He'd never found the leader of the God King's opposition. Until now. He looked down at the olive skinned arrancar with a whole new perspective

Caliga's features were still set; though Kodoku had stopped, she was still looking at her past. Somehow, the expression was completely fitting for a defeated general. But maybe it was his newfound revelation that made him think so.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Kodoku saw Nel staring at him. He turned to her, and the look in her normally placid hazel eyes surprised him; she was glaring at him with what was unmistakably anger. Kodoku opened his mouth to question her, but she raised a hand. Her green brows dipped in a fashion similar to his.

"We'll talk about this later." was her curt statement.

Kodoku opened his mouth, but this time he was cut off by a hush coming over the _Cuenco_. He didn't need to look at the platform above and behind him to know that Aizen had stood. He could sense the reiatsu charged air that rolled off him, and the faint scent of perverse evil joy that stole into Kodoku's nostrils. Within a minute, everyone's attention was focused on Aizen.

"Comrades!" he spoke in a normal tone of voice, but Kodoku suspected a kido spell was being used to amplify his voice as it carried easily around the _Cuenco_, "Since the formation of Las Noches, eighteen numeros have been selected as having above average combat prowess. Today, they will prove themselves before us all, and if they're deemed worthy, will have the chance to become a fraccion to one of the Espada."

Now everyone's attention shifted to the ten warriors on the platform below Aizen.

Madera consumed the entire throne he sat on, his massive hands cupping his chin. The Decima's acidic eyes were anxious for the festivities to begin.

Dejara's chair was the site of some large reiatsu measuring instruments, and a thick looking notebook. She had on her perpetual look of vague interest, but other than that, Kodoku couldn't read her at all. To be frank, it unnerved him.

Accalar was uncharacteristically attentive (despite his constant craving for popcorn), his blood red eyes steeped in anxiety. The Octava's ridiculously large blade was laying on the platform in front of his chair. He was worried for his companion, Grazelza, no doubt. Not without good reason, though; Kodoku had heard that many of the arrancar selected were just below Espada level.

Grimmjow and Gruesa were in a rather heated argument. Gruesa had his arms folded across his chest, his hauntingly golden eyed glare at Grimmjow not wavering in the slightest as he belted off response after response without pause. It was clear Grimmjow was growing frustrated very quickly.

"I'm the Sexta, I outrank you." Gruesa's armored fingers drummed against his arms, as he calmly raged to the blue haired Septima.

"Fuck that! We'll fight over it, right here, right now!" Grimmjow was practically out of his seat, his arms taut and fists clenched as he leaned towards Gruesa.

"That's fine, but how would that help you? I'd win, since I'm the Sexta, and you're the Septima..."

Kodoku anticipated that the two might just join the _Sangrietos Juegos_ themselves.

Tia wore a strange look in her eyes, as if she was trying to be hopeful, but was afraid to be so.

Caliga had managed to pull herself out of the past, and her face lifted into a blank expression. Nel had her arms folded underneath her chest, refusing to look at Kodoku.

Kodoku had his hands folded in his lap as he concentrated on Aizen's words. Slowly, everyone's attention shifted back to Aizen

"The three strongest that are not selected as fraccion will become Privaron Espada, the guardians of the lower levels of Las Noches. A war is coming, comrades. But for now, let us partake in food, drink and the pleasure of battle!"

A swelling cheer burst forth from the numeros and lower arrancar, accompanied by a stampede of applause. Not a numero realized what had happened, but Kodoku knew; they'd lost themselves in his words. He hypothesized his zanpakuto could manipulate perception, or even reality. Either way, it fit perfectly with the man's nature. Espada were silent, looking carefully at each other; the warriors had long since gotten past their guarded hollow instincts, and had, to an extent, opened up to their comrades. But no one knew quite what to do; show loyalty to Aizen, or to their comrades?

Nel forgot her anger at Kodoku for a moment, and shot him a concerned look. Kodoku didn't doubt she knew what he was thinking.

So with the eyes of the nine strongest hollows of Hueco Mundo upon him, Kodoku struck his hands together.

Once, twice.

The sound merged seamlessly with the thunderous clapping of the numeros, but it was so much louder, so much more layered. The stadium grew silent after a few long minutes, but Kodoku's clapping continued, ringing throughout the sloping walls of the _Cuenco_. The Primera still didn't turn to look at Aizen. His message had been delivered.

'I accept your challenge', his clapping said.

Kodoku didn't see Aizen begin to smile.

* * *

><p>World of the Living: Karakura Town<p>

* * *

><p>Ichigo Kurosaki made his way to school. Step after step, he couldn't keep the slight tremor of pain from shooting to the more battered parts of his body. His pained gait was slowing him down; he was about five minutes late to homeroom, and it would take him at least ten more minutes at his current pace. He tried to walk a bit faster, but had to slow down at the protest of his muscles.<p>

"Damn it," Ichigo growled under his breath as he stopped to catch his breath, hunched over with his hands on his knees.

Even after three months, his body was still sore from his battles in the Soul Society. He had a particularly nasty set of scars on his chest and back to remember his battle with Byakuya Kuchiki's kido by. It was a raised, jagged circle of an entry wound that was on his left pectoral, and a slightly larger ellipse of an exit wound on his left shoulder blade. The healers at the Soul Society had said he'd been extraordinarily lucky the electrical reiatsu hadn't stopped his heart.

In fact, he had a whole assortment of wounds they'd said he was lucky to have survived; the gash across his chest from Kenpachi, the shoulder to hip slash from Renji, and many others.

That didn't sit too well in Ichigo Kurosaki's mind; the fact that he'd survived on luck.

It was eating away at him. Whenever he closed his eyes, there was a whisper, barely noticeable, but cold and dripping with madness;

_'You're weak, King.'_

It would be shortly followed by visions of when he blacked out during his battle with Byakuya; he saw himself spinning, tearing and hacking with Zangetsu in a seamless, feral manner. It was difficult to believe that it was him doing all of it. But out of the corners of his eyes now, he could catch a glimpse of white, and hear the echoic, insane laughter. It had gotten to the point that Ichigo no longer thought it was his insecurities that were driving him mad.

No, it was the other him that was eating away him.

Ichigo didn't have another name for it. His other was the owner of that strange mask that took over for him when he blacked out. It scared him that he could turn into such a monster on a moment's notice. No, it scared him that such a monster was a part of him.

Ichigo stood, and continued walking, trying to push those thoughts to the back of his mind. A quiet, mad chuckle accompanied him.

He made it to school without another fit of fatigue. He'd been chewed out by his teacher for being late, and for hardly having come to class in the last three months. The orange haired teen paid her rant no mind. His entire mind was currently devoted to suppressing the ever growing white presence in his psyche. His friends gave him strange looks, but he simply sat down. He noted Uryuu was absent.

He hadn't told them about his episode on Sokyoku Hill. Hell, he hadn't told anyone about it.

He glared out the window, tuning out the lesson. Minutes passed. Ichigo's eyes began to dip shut.

_Tensa Zangetsu was delightfully light in his hands. In fact, his whole body felt like a feather. His limbs were shaking in excitement. Reiatsu flooded to his extremities, and without a command, he slashed the black blade downwards. A crescent fang of night and blood tore towards his opponent. It connected. God, he felt so alive. He laughed, his voice echoic, his face covered in the white of a hollow's mask._

His eyes ripped themselves open. There was the laughing again. Only an instant had passed, and he was still looking out the window.

The other's laughter quickly died.

Outside the window, perched in a tree was a hollow, the likes of which Ichigo had never seen before. It resembled a canine, but was the size of a horse. Its hide was covered in a combination of thick, white fur, and segmented white armor. A hollow hole dwelt in its chest. Not an ounce of spiritual pressure leaked from it. Its head was inclined, and its lime green eyes looked directly at him. It seemed to notice his looking at it. Its cone like ears twitched, and it vanished.

Ichigo looked around; no one, not even his spiritually aware friends had noticed the hollow. When he looked away, a bit of white caught his attention. On his desk was a note, written in rigid, almost robotic handwriting. Ichigo once again looked around; nobody seemed to have put the note there. With slight trepidation, he read it.

_If you'd like to know more about a certain someone, I can help._

_-Amicus_

Strange, Ichigo thought. Friend in Latin.

The other was silent.

Apparently, he thought so too.

* * *

><p>Hueco Mundo: Desert Floor<p>

* * *

><p>The room was dimly lit and thick with apprehension. Seventeen bodies, seventeen lives, seventeen hopes. The room lay beneath the sandy floor of the <em>Cuenco<em>, and held the actual participates of the _Sangrietos Juegos_. They could feel the thunder of applause from the numeros above, their senseless joy. One arrancar's thoughts in particular were ablaze.

His crimson brows dipped into a scowl. The arrancar around him were all scared, to some degree; he could feel them shaking.

It disgusted him. They were so inferior to him and not just in combat capability; in the weight they had to carry. They'd all been training for the past three months, so that when the _Sangrietos Juegos_ came around, they'd be able to make it to the end. And on top of that, Aizen had made it abundantly clear that death wasn't forbidden; every battle had the potential to be one for their lives.

But these fools had the gall to be scared for their lives.

His mouth turned downwards.

Fearing the _Sangrietos Juegos_ only put them even further under Aizen's boot; it made the, easier to control. Not only were they weak, they were remarkably stupid. How they'd survived in Hueco Mundo until now seemed a mystery to him.

After a moment's consideration, he took it back.

Aizen was a whole different game than the brainless, violent hierarchy of Hueco Mundo; he was calculating, cold, and seemed to see every possibility.

Maybe this was what he wanted, the arrancar thought; for them to realize that he could control them. Maybe that was the very thought that he planned on them thinking. It turned the crimson haired arrancar's head round in circles. Even if they thought they were being manipulated, it wouldn't change the fact that they were.

He blew out an annoyed breath, and clenched a hand around his zanpakuto. Since when did he become one to be distracted from the task at hand?

Nothing mattered now, save one fact; seventeen hearts were prepared to kill.

Yet he couldn't keep his mind from wandering.

"But one heart is without fear," he whispered under his breath, his knuckles pale as he tightened his grip on his sheathed blade.

The door creaked open. An olive colored eye rolled to the entryway. There stood a tall figure, clad in a large coat, and a very convincing false bravado. Two navy blue eyes cringed. A wolfish grin adorned his face.

Another arrancar had joined them. The final warrior of the _Sangrietos Juegos_ took a long whiff of the room.

"Smells like death." was his judgment.

The crimson haired arrancar's olive eyes narrowed.

"Make that two," he said in the same whispered tone.

* * *

><p>The <em>Cuenco<em> was silent once more. Slowly, two panels in the floor slid aside, and a platform rose up. On it were the eighteen warriors of the _Sangrietos Juegos_. Somehow everyone present could feel it; the acrid, smoky scent of two bleeding hearts, and sixteen rotting ones.

Two that were prepared to kill, and resented it.

Sixteen that wanted to kill, but couldn't.

"Let the _Sangrietos Juegos_ begin," Aizen said smoothly, his voice still ringing across the _Cuenco_.

This time, when the stadium erupted into cheers, Kodoku didn't clap.

* * *

><p>Soul Society: Squad 1 Barracks<p>

* * *

><p>Toshiro Hitsugaya appeared in the courtyard at the back of the Squad 1 Barracks, closely followed by the dark form of Ningen Geretsuna. Standing there was the Head Captain. If Toshiro hadn't known any better, he would've said the Commander had aged in the last two days. He shot a green eyed glance at the man by his side.<p>

Of course he'd heard the stories of the Vile One, Ningen Geretsuna; of course he'd heard the rumors that this man was him. It was another thing for Toshiro to believe them. After all, wasn't this man supposed to be the only shinigami to ever rival the Commander? Toshiro didn't feel an ounce of spiritual pressure coming from him, no matter how hard he searched. But he couldn't say anything for sure; the Head Captain hadn't said anything about the black haired man.

"Thank you, Captain Hitsugaya," the Head Captain said, and Toshiro could've sworn he heard him sigh before adding, "You may leave us."

A suspicious pair of green eyes didn't linger; they and their owner were gone with a whisper in an instant.

Ningen didn't move from where he stood. He simply looked at the Head Captain his murky purple eyes impossible to read.

"Why have you called me from my imprisonment?" the dark man asked, continuing to stare straight at the Captain Commander.

"I have simply called you from your wanderings, Ningen," the old man said, "We have much to do."

With that he struck his cane to the ground. Instantly, the seki-seki tiles of the courtyard shifted aside to reveal a long, winding stairwell. Without waiting for the dark man, the Head Captain began walking down the stairs. It was almost half an hour before he heard Ningen behind him.

"You didn't answer my question, old man," Ningen quipped, "Where are we going?"

"You always ask questions, boy. Not even the years have taken that from you."

"And you always dodge them," Ningen shot back, "Why have you shortened a sentence that was supposed to be eternal?"

The Head Captain was silent.

The rest of their journey continued in that fashion, until they'd reached their destination. It was an enormous cavern, far below Seireitei. It appeared barren, save for a few light giving reiatsu torches. But as Ningen looked closer he could see the ruins of a few age old huts and buildings. He recognized them.

"You saved this place?" he asked with a sense of wonder.

"Everything was preserved after our battle."

Ningen didn't need to know any more; the ash and fire of that day would put any volcano to shame.

He knew this place; it was his home.

"Why did you free me, father?"

The Head Captain sighed, and in that moment, Ningen could see a millennium weighing down on his shoulders.

"Walk with me, boy."

And they walked. Through the streets both had once called home. Through the streets they'd both buried in mountains of ash. They walked past the long residents; the bakers, the farmers, the swordsmen. It was clear; a thousand years and a bloody battle separated them.

"The Soul Society now faces a threat unlike anything we've ever face. A man who can control how we perceive reality, along with an object that can alter reality itself. And on top of that, he is making an army of hollows."

Ningen silently absorbed the information, as they rounded a corner.

"Why do you need me?"

"Because I believe he controls one of the Great Hollow Kings of old," the Head Captain said solemnly

"Who?" Ningen started, his murky eyes widening.

"I do not know; a mask and a thousand years help to shroud him."

The two finally arrived at their destination. It was a low hut, made of stone. Unlike the others, it was completely preserved. The Head Captain entered alone. He leaned inside and plucked something off the dusty ground.

In his hands was a zanpakuto.

Its sheath was a deep purple, and three bands of black metal were attached to the sheath near the blade's handle. All that could be seen of the sword was a long handle, with grey wrapping. The blade emanated such a pure evil it had eroded a pit in the home where The Captain Commander had kept it all these centuries.

With a quiver of fear in his heart, Head Captain Genryiusai Yamamoto handed the dark zanpakuto to its owner.

"We will need your abilities to win this war."

Slightly shaking, hesitant hand reached for the sword. The instant Ningen's fingers close around the blade, black power erupted from him. He laughed. By the time his geyser of reiatsu completely filled the massive cavern, he was bent over, cackling.

* * *

><p>Soul Society: Seireitei<p>

* * *

><p>Everyone in Seireitei held onto something for dear life. Seconds ago the city had begun to shake. Then had come the spiritual pressure; it was evil, massive and suffocating. It could be felt everywhere in the city; there was no escaping it. The sun had been blocked by rolling grey clouds of condensed reiatsu.<p>

There were whispers of the end of the world. Some of the older residents recalled an incident a century ago involving similar circumstances and a Vasto Lorde. Then one person dared to say it, what everyone had at the back of their minds.

The Vile One is back.

It spread like a wildfire. Soon everyone was whispering it.

The Vile One was back.

He was here to swallow the sky.

* * *

><p><strong>AN_:_** Well we did a bit of a character dive, didn't we? Only ones you haven't really dived into are Tia, Grimmjow, Madera, and Ulquiorra; to come, not to worry.

Translations:

_Cumpleanos_; Birthday (in case you couldn't tell from the context...)

_Sangrietos Juegos_; Bloody Games

_Cabron_; Asshole

_Cuenco_; Bowl

_Absrobens Caelum; _Swallow the Sky

_Amicus; _Friend


	8. An Update (With Good and Bad News)

.

An Update on A Hollow Crown, and Bleach stories, and just fanfiction in general

.

Hello, everyone who reads this, love you guys, but I have some bad news fortunately followed by good news. The bad news is that in this form, A Hollow Crown is officially discontinued :(. If you are **mad** and tempted to **shut this window**, I advise you **hold off** until the end of at least the next few paragraphs. I had a ton of fun writing it, and I hope you guys had a ton of fun reading it, but in hindsight I'm beginning to realize that it was written in haste, and subsequently not very well thought through. I'd like to think that I've grown as a writer, but after a recent re-read, my writing itself hasn't gotten better (I was very surprised at this, trust me) but my capacity, I guess, to imagine stories and conflicts has. I read more, and saw more and obviously then had more themes to draw on when I write.

I had a similar experience with my Fairy Tail story, and a re-work of that is up and running, and so far I'm pretty proud of it. So, my first thought was to re-write this story, just making it more concise and clear and maybe changing up some characters like I had with Enchant.

This went very well, at first, until brilliant friend of mine began bashing the Vandenreich, and it eventually spiraled into us thinking of a complete overhaul for Bleach, which for now I'm calling **Project ****Machinations**. This overhaul is in the end what I decided to focus on, rather than a re-write of A Hollow Crown for the following reasons 1) I like the idea more, 2) It's much more encompassing, and an overall more immersive story, 3) A lot of the reworked/original characters fit very well into this overhaul, and finally 4) It'll be much better.

The good news is that the overhaul is just stepping out of its infancy, and beginning to walk; characters and concepts are being finalized while the plot points are slowly but surely being meshed out. A couple of sneak peeks are at the end!

So you may be wondering, 'what does this overhaul entail, and why would that be better than A Hollow Crown, which is pretty much already a canon OC Insertion/Overhaul?' Well, when I say overhaul, I really mean it. The story takes place 113 years after the Winter War, and while there is a significant canon presence, the conflicts and characters are almost entirely new to the Bleach universe. I don't want to give stuff away, but the Vandenreich has been completely reworked, as well as the politics of the Soul Society...Hueco Mundo will have to remain a surprise, though. Or not really a surprise, since its in the clipping below but, eh.

And here are some sneak peeks to what I have so far...

.

The Dreams of Elsa Chaira

.

A kaleidoscope of colors, some she'd never imagined before, spun around and enveloped her vision, giving the illusion that she was moving as one with the light. She had no feeling, or perception other than her sight; the rest of her body seemed lost in the void beyond this realm of spinning luminescence. The light wasn't knitted together perfectly, it seemed.

She couldn't tell how often, as time didn't seem of relevance in this world, but the strands of colored light would part, and she would glimpse snatches of the worlds beyond.

At one glance, outside seemed a rocky chasm, and others and ice filled basin. Other times it was a fantastic feudal city, where people walked about in black robes. The shinigami and their callous justice, the reason for their arrogance. Still others showed it as a desert in eternal twilight where monsters in white masks fought terrible, bloody battles. Her home, the sand and the darkness that were as much a part of her as the red blood.

Each vision was tugging her towards it, pulling her from somewhere around her heart. She found that right above her breasts was a chain, that she seemed to be leading up, out of her view. The tug got stronger, and she realized something was pulling her upwards.

And then she was rushing up far away from the warmth of color, and up into a world of pure black with no distinctions. There were bodies all around her, hung from the same chains. The glowed from within, in a kaleidoscope of pulsing reiryoku. Her eyes followed the chains up. They were connected to the fingertips of huge hand, which would occasionally twitch, and more bodies would jerk up into its dark world. Above that was a white mask, the owner of the hand. Its eyes, one hazel and the other electric blue sense her gaze and she can tell it grins.

"They could not erase me," the voice hisses, the sound coiling around her ribs and shaking her. "They, my arrogant brothers, they the false kings of this world. Who are you?"

_Elsa Chaira. That's who the fuck I am_. But her words don't come. The sound of this things voice is suppressing her own.

It wheezes out a laugh. "Who are you to speak to me?"

Now she's struggling to break the chain, but she can't move. Her great strength is nowhere to be found. Then she is flying, up to the mask to look it in the eyes. Awful power washes over her, sending shuddering stillness ripping out from her heart to her toes and fingers. It's blue eye flashes, and its voice booms, "WHO ARE YOU?"

. . .

Elsa Chaira woke, with her eyes burning with tears and her body slick with sweat. She threw of her blanket, and spat a long string of curses. She rubbed her temples, and absentmindedly tried to tame her mane of blonde hair. She blinked, and felt around her for her her water sac and drained it in two gulps. Hollows usually don't dream, but she did. This wasn't the first time she'd had this kind of dream, but it was the first time it was that real. It was the first time, in a long time that she'd cried and it unnerved her.

"I could use a walk," she murmured to herself. But she just sat there, staring at the sandstone walls for a few minutes, until the room became much too small. Elsa stood, and toweled off the sweat. She pulled on her pants, and wrapped up her bust but decided to skip her jacket. Quietly, she left her room, and closed the door behind her. She glanced down the hall, and saw that the door to Starrk and Lilynette's room was slightly ajar. A detour, it seemed was necessary.

She followed the stairs up to the roof, temporarily forgetting about her walk. There, sitting in the moonlight as per habit, was Coyote Starrk. Elsa strode over and sat down next to him. She followed his gaze; the small city they were in spread out in front of them, all oblong and rounded square buildings of sandstone and golden glowing reiryoku lanterns.

"It's nice here," Elsa said softly, "I wouldn't mind staying here for a while."

"I wouldn't either, but I hear some warlords are coming up from the south," Starrk responds through a yawn, but Elsa can tell its fake; his eyes are sharp, and he's worried. If warlords are coming from the south, that means it won't be long until Acoat Emyr himself is sweeping through this region.

"I had a dream again."

He was silent. Listening.

"It was more like a nightmare, really, some cheeky bastard in a mask had me chained up, and..." She trailed off, because remembering that helpless feeling tied a knot in her tongue. She wants to say more but the words don't come.

"I used to have dreams, too," he said, unexpectedly placing a hand on her shoulder. "They were bad at the time, but they'll pass."

She shook her head. She wanted them past now, but she knew Starrk's advice was good. After a long moment of silence, he stretched out and laid back with his head turned to the crescent moon. Elsa mirrored him. She closed her eyes, trying to shake that strange ache from her extremities.

"We'll leave by new moon."

Elsa smirked, "Are you sure? I think everyone wants to be somewhere for the Luna Festival." She almost laughed, "Rique finally has sonnet he's ready to perform in front of a crowd."

"He'll chicken out five minutes beforehand," Starrk says after a moment, and Elsa can hear a small smile. It fades into his next sentence, "I've got a bad feeling."

"About what?"

"I dunno," he said with a frown, "Everything. I think we should get going as soon as possible. If everyone wants to stay for the festival fine, but we're leaving right after."

If it were anyone else, Elsa might have scoffed or laughed. Elsa knew she was strong, much stronger than almost anyone, but Stark was even stronger than her. She may provide the currency for their little group, but all of them looked to Starrk for leadership and protection. And most of the time, the lazy bastard would tell them to leave him alone, because he was napping. But when no one was around, he worried about all of them. They were his family, after all.

"Bad stuff has happened to us before, Starrk," she said. This time it was her turn to comfort him, "Nothing has taken us down yet, you know why?"

"Because the pack is strongest together," he said with a half grin. Suddenly Elsa was laughing, and even Starrk gave a chuckle. He raised his fist, and she bumped hers against his.

Together they all but shouted, "To the pack!"

. . .

Yup :). The character you just caught a glimpse of was Elsa Chaira, an arrancar, bounty hunter and all around cheeky bastard (_note: _she has a penchant for the word bastard). She's one of three main character of the Machinations storylines (an arrancar, a shinigami and a quincy, just to let you know) and as you can surmise, her quests will take her through the tumultuous kingdom of Hueco Mundo, which has changed dramatically in the past 113 years. So, um, who is Acoat Emyr? Warlords? Starrk and Lilynette are _alive? _What the fuck, isn't Hueco Mundo just a bunch of hollows killing each other? Some, uh, questions for thought, if I may.

If you have any further questions or concerns about anything feel free to pm me, and we can chat. I'd be happy to share more of what I have, all you have to do is ask! Once again, I'm sorry that I'm discontinuing the story, but I'm really not sorry because it's getting a replacement that will make you and me and everyone much happier, and we all want to be happy. So, until further developments arise, I'll catch you later.

-SA (I think I've changed my pen name since I've written this last...)

Also, this period spacing style is soooo much sexier than the ff . net lines, just saying.


End file.
